


No Other Magic Could Ever Compare

by publishesinfontuwu



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Donghyuck has a wind spirit friend called Gale, Fae & Fairies, KunTen deserves their slots at the r/s tag for the amount of flirting and PDA in this fic, M/M, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Minor Jung Sungchan/Osaki Shotaro, Minor Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Minor Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong, Minor Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Minor Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Violence, Slow Burn, all 23 boys are in this mess of a fic, basically all parental figures are fictional except Qian Kun, character tag only reflects main/priority characters, fic will be changed to mature in the later chapters btw hehe, mentions of hyuck getting bullied but nothing major, the tags are a mess but hey who cares not me, this is a whole mess of slowburn renhyuck because they only kiss in chapter 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:14:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 59,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27956726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/publishesinfontuwu/pseuds/publishesinfontuwu
Summary: Huang Renjun wasn't expecting to find his soulmate and the love of his life when he went on a journey to get his parents' best friend's son back. He was just craving for an adventure and had jumped to the opportunity when it was served to him. He had somehow, in some ways or another, found love, comfort and an extended family in a little town. Not that he’s complaining, to be fair.Or alternatively: the RenHyuck Fairies AU no one asked for but I wrote it anyway :) heh
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan
Comments: 24
Kudos: 74





	1. You’re the Answer I’ve waited for

**Author's Note:**

> Hello :) welcome to my very first chaptered fanfic and this is honestly my baby. This is going to be a loooooong Author's Note so feel free to skip it if you want, just keep an eye on the last bit where I placed a [Legend] or you'll be confused when you read the fic :) I promise the other 3 chapters would have shorter notes asdfghjkl
> 
> I have watched this fic flourish from what was meant to be for a fest to this mess of 56K-ish work. It felt that it was too rushed back then to squeeze this whole universe into a couple of words and the whole concept could really been better developed. So after consulting with a friend, I decided to withdraw it and well, give it more depth, explore the whole universe I have created. Well, the fact that this fic is now revealed, I did. It still amazes me how insane I am to have created this mess of a universe (said fondly of course) and how all 23 characters in this had grown from the original 3K words to this massive sized one (hush, I know there are fanfics that have more word count, let me be dramatic).
> 
> I started off this fic thinking this would never surpass that [NoRenMin (endgame: RenHyuck) ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460628) fic that stood proudly at 14.3K but look here I am bringing to the table a long ass fic that is around 56K — which is insane like woah @ self you alright? Did you know that a standard YA novel ranges from 50K to about 80K words? I’m proud of myself for actually pushing through this whole thing and actually finished the whole fic like amazing *claps self on the back* I have probably rewritten this piece thrice because yours truly did not plot her fic out, and went straight in and nearly drowned in the process of making this. Listen, plot your fic out, don’t just go in and struggle. You’ll thank yourself later when you’re almost 30K in and you found two massive plot holes and welp, rewriting is a pain in the ass I promise you.
> 
> This work was created and conceived on 5th Oct and it's amazing how it had grown in just two months and it's insane for me. According to an overly enthusiastic tweet to Haru, I was done on 6th Dec and that makes it really 2 months oh my lo— Of course, I would have NEVER completed this without the support from various people.
> 
> So here’s a cheers to **Haru** for always having to deal with my virtual tears and wailing about this “dumb fic that went out of hand”, thank you for always hyping me in the DMs and telling me to write at my own pace and everything. This fic wouldn’t have been born and grown to this size without you — it would have been stuck at 3000 words. You’re the bravest warrior I’ve known, and gives the sanest advices. I’m glad to have met you. 
> 
> Here’s an enormous hug to **Ju** for being my RenHyuck soulmate who dealt with all my RenHyuck nonsense and squeals, I’m thankful :) My dearest bub, thank you for being around me. You’re on your way forward to an important chapter of your life, and I’m so proud of you for that. You're the strongest fighter, even if you don't think so. Thank you for coming into my life.
> 
> This wouldn’t have been possible without both of your support, so thank you <33
> 
> Here’s to the Mods at Nwriterthoughts for always hyping my WIPs and sending me love every Wednesday, thank you for always being so sweet and kind to everyone’s WIPs; y’all the MVP alright! Here’s to everyone who had commented under my fairies au #WIPWednesday tweets and had been excited for this, this one’s for you *throws the ball and it _does_ goes into the hoop because i’m not Mark Lee*, thank you for all your kind words, lovely humans on the internet.
> 
> This author’s note is (finally!) reaching to and end, oh my god. Erm, yeah… I think this is enough rambling and well, enjoy the fic :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Huang Renjun, the heir to the throne, the true future King to the Moon Fairies, was born with cursed blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heed the tags please, heed the author’s note for the other chapters, take care of yourself while reading. There will be additional tags that will drop as the chapter-count increases :) This will be updated every fortnightly, Friday at 10pm KST, so see you at the next update! 
> 
> Legend:  
> (Donghyuck’s Little Voice-turned-Wind Friend)  
>  _ **Renjun’s telepathic abilities**_

Huang Renjun was born cursed.

There were whispers circling the air, hushed yet bold with what they hold.

Huang Renjun, the heir to the throne, the true future King to the Moon Fairies, was born with cursed blood. He was born on a full moon, a great blessing to the family. However, just as the Crown Princess was in labour, the moon had turned blood red. The court went into a frenzy and when she gave birth to a beautiful boy, her husband knew he had to protect his wife and newborn. When a hushed whisper crept upon them about a birthmark on his son’s hand, the then crown prince decided there and then that he would choose his family.

So when his parents urged him to give his wife and son up — because “a Moon Fairy born on a blood red moon would mean trouble,” as they had advised, he packed his things into bags, kept it hidden and out of sight. Once his wife was strong enough to move, they would leave immediately. A week passed, and when his wife smiled up at him, he knew they were ready to run. So, one night, he took the bags and his family and they ran away, forgoing his throne.

Huang Renjun grew up in a small village along the borders, never knowing the secret of his birth, his parents had agreed to only tell him of his birth rights when he came of age. His parents tried to give him the very best they could, anything he wanted they would do their best to get it for him. However, when the old King was on his deathbed, the messengers of the courts came riding to them. They begged and pleaded with the Renjun’s father to return and take the place as the rightful King of the Moon Fairies. “We cannot go on without a King,” they had cried and Renjun finally understood the late night conversations he had eavesdropped upon. He watched his father chase them out of the house and come back, tears staining his face.

Renjun was an adolescent when a battalion of guards turned up at his door, fear and panic leaking out of them. He had crouched behind the door, hiding beside his mother and peeked from where he was, eyes shining with curiosity at the sudden intrusion of the Royal Guards. After his father forced them out of the house again, his hand sparkled with electricity, Renjun ran out from behind and gave his father a tight hug. His hand rested gently on his father’s cheek, eyes firm and with love. He knew what he had to do, for his parents would never make the choice.

“Dad, let’s go back. You have your duties as a son, and so do I as _your_ son.”

The look in his father’s eyes was something he could still remember after so many years. It was haunting how broken his father had looked, so torn like a fragile piece of paper caught between a branch. Renjun merely smiled at his father reassuringly and nodded firmly. That night, his tightly knitted family broke down into tears — mostly Renjun’s parents — as they hugged on the cold, wooden floor. They packed up and left in a day, the guards were courteous to him albeit giving him curious looks.

He couldn’t remember the journey back, he only remembered the changing of scenery as he was brimming with excitement beside his mother. He had never travelled out of town before and he was thrilled about the ever-changing views he was seeing outside. His nanny, a witch by the name Victoria, was invited (insisted by Renjun’s father) along to return with them. She had gallantly agreed and promised to continue teaching Renjun if the courts agreed to her involvement with Renjun’s classes. He was curious and excited about his hometown, his brown eyes soaking in the view from the window, eyes eager to know about the lives his parents had led before he was born.

Renjun wasn’t stupid, he knew his birth changed a lot of things. He had overheard conversations he was not allowed to hear when he was child. He woke up from his slumber, toddler feet had led him to countless sessions of eavesdropping on his parents’ hushed conversations in their bedroom. He knew how his mother had cried, how she had apologised for his birth on the nights that sometimes got too rough. He knew his father was stricken with fear whenever someone came by and knocked on the door. He picked up words like “Blood Moon” and “cursed child” and he had asked Victoria quietly one afternoon when his parents were not around.

Victoria had always been with him since he started walking, the witch was betrothed to another wizard called Zhoumi. She was the only in the village that was willing to take up his father’s offer to teach him all she knew. Renjun trained under her and her husband, learning the spells and craftwork of a witch. When she heard his question about the Blood Moon and its relation to the cursed child, she had dropped to her knees and held him close, patting his hair gently. Her voice was laced with an emotion that six year old Renjun couldn’t decipher but when she spoke to him, her voice was firm and left no room for disagreements.

“Oh baby, you… where did you hear this from?”

Renjun dropped his head and mumbled that he heard it from his parents. Victoria had pulled him back on her lap, voice soft but sure as she tells him that he is not a cursed child but a child who wields unthinkable power. He was blessed by the red moon, not a curse, and he will find a place in this great scheme of things. Renjun nodded, comforted by the words, and he asked.

“But why are my parents so upset?”

Victoria sighed, looking at him squarely in the face.

“Your parents gave up a lot to make sure that you are alright and safe. Your father will be asked to make a decision one day, and when that day comes, you need to give your father strength to make the right choice.”

Renjun peeked back at his parents’ clouded over expressions, and looked back into the sky. The sun shines brightly, and he could feel her warmth on his face. He knew the time to make decisions had arrived and he technically made the choice for his parents. But Renjun doesn’t regret it, he recollected the many nights he had caught his father on their roof, gazing at the stars with a sad look on his face.

He remembers the way his mother looked when it was his birthday. He knows that they had never blamed him, but he also knows that a part of them was conflicted. They longed to be with their families, and if he could give them that, Renjun would choose the same path over and over again. He will be brave and take on any obstacles that come his way. He turned away from the window, catching the eye of Victoria who gave him a little smile. She reached over and clasped his hand between hers, and he sent her a grateful smile in return.

Hello, Moon Fairy courts. Hello, _Crown Prince_ Huang Renjun.

——————————————

Huang Renjun had stopped counting the number of years since his family’s return to the Moon Fairy Courts. He had spent a good amount of years making beautiful memories with his grandfather before his passing, and that's all it mattered to Renjun. The reception had been warm, much to the shock of his father. The Late King had personally fetched them at the gates and had dropped to his knees to seek forgiveness from his son. He took one look at Renjun and tears gushed out of his eyes, reaching out cautiously to Renjun. Renjun sneaked a look at his parents, receiving a quiet nod, and ran straight into his grandfather’s embrace.

“I’m so sorry, my child. I was foolish and muddle headed. Welcome back, my son and my daughter-in-law. Welcome back, my children.” he sobbed as the father and son embraced before the castle staff.

Well, it hasn't always been easy.

There were whispers that followed him around, the hushed curses and the words of doubts etched permanently around him as he made his way around the little palace. They may have been sworn to the royal family and the Late King had sent out a decree to make sure no one said a word of Renjun’s bloodline, but it doesn’t stop the gossip amongst the staff. They had never mistreated him, thankfully, but Renjun always felt like he was gawked at by the staff whenever he made his way down. Funnily, they never quite realised that he had used a sound blocking bubble around him and he couldn’t really hear what they were saying. Victoria taught him spells in their lessons together which was something that his father had insisted upon their arrival.

“My son will be taught by his nanny and the court scholars. I do not wish to rip something that my son took joy in away from him just because I had to be back.”

Thankfully, the King agreed and his father didn’t have to actually fire any castle staff. Much to everyone’s surprise, Renjun also managed to get his lessons split evenly into half, and he was thrilled.

Years after he had outgrown his court lessons, blooming into a fine young adult (in terms of human ages), his lessons with Victoria never stopped. Her husband, Zhoumi, had joined them in the castle and also joined Victoria in giving him lessons. They had always told him that he had a flair in witchcraft, his fire affinity allowed him to brew potions at a higher accuracy.

Victoria taught him about healing while Zhoumi taught him how to fight, although Renjun had a flair in healing spells and potions. Victoria beamed proudly, looking at her little apprentice flourish and grow up to be a fine young man. His eyes never lost the curiosity and innocence he had, yet there is a layer of fierce loyalty to the people he held close to his heart. As he grew older and his magic bubbled within him, growing stronger and more powerful, Renjun felt a nagging feeling gnaw at the corner of his heart.

There was something missing in him, and Renjun is dying to get out there and find that missing piece in him.

The feeling grew after his grandfather, the Late King, passed away. Renjun found himself yearning to get out, beyond these stonewalls, and live an adventure. His neck itched with the white suits he had been wearing for the wedding and watched his father take place as the new King of the Moon Fairies. He let out an inaudible sigh as he turned to look up into the night sky, slinking into the darkness as fellow lords and dukes congratulated his father. Renjun knew his own coronation as the Crown Prince and _rightful heir_ to the throne would happen soon, two months after his birthday in Spring, and he would have to host balls and flirt with girls.

But his heart yearned for an adventure, a wrenched longing for _someone_ whom Renjun had no idea about. He did know that there were some people who were still skeptical about his bloodline and being a cursed Fairy. Some time before his coronation party was held two weeks after his father’s own, a rumour surfaced in the community. A rumour that Renjun thinks isn’t too far off from reality.

The Crown Prince is a witch, they whispered.

He was spotted muttering incantations in the field and brewing a potion, they hissed.

He was drawing weird patterns on the mud and the patterns shone brightly, they passed on to friends and families alike.

Renjun’s parents had rolled their eyes heavily at the rumour and allowed him to take charge on how he wanted to respond to it. Renjun chuckled about it over dinner one night, mulling over his response to the jeers and speculations. He had pondered day and night since the first rumour made its way to his ear, sneaky like a snake.

Renjun proposed for his parents to hold a public session after the coronation ball where he can finally make use of his medic powers to help people who needed help. His mother gave him a pleased hum and his father nodded at his genius plan, that would be feasible — it showed that his powers were nothing to be afraid of, that he is, in fact, _harmless_. His parents promised to hold one after his coronation so he could officially conduct the session as the crown prince and heir to the throne. Renjun beamed at the promise, humming under his breath, a wave of excitement flourished in his blood as he counted down to the day of his public session.

Yet, a day before his first public session, an unforeseen visitor dropped by.

The Crown Prince of the Sun Fairies walked in, disheveled and weary from his journey.

He embraced Renjun’s father warmly as he dropped a kiss on Renjun’s mother’s forehead. Renjun learnt from his classes that the Crown Prince had a wife and a son of his age, but when he peeked curiously behind the visitor, he saw no one. Renjun recalls his lessons with his tutors that this man standing before him was his father’s best friend and his circumstances are quite similar to his own. He had a wife and then subsequently a child, born in the same year as him but in Summer.

More importantly, his child was born under a curse too — the Solar Eclipse.

He knew from his lessons that this Crown Prince was a special case like his family. The two couples often went on holidays together - well, before he uprooted his family and moved away to the human community with his wife and child, while his parents ran from the throne. Much like Renjun’s own experience, the Crown Prince only returned when his father’s health was ailing and yet, unlike Renjun’s family, he returned alone. The courts for the Sun Fairies were not as nice as theirs — the staff were unafraid to speak up about their displeasure about the cursed child.

Renjun wrung his hands together, lips tugged down into a pout, as he watched the movements of the Crown Prince carefully. He was indeed curious as to why the old family friend of his father had come to their courts, especially now. The older Fairy looked at him kindly and turned to face his old friend. Renjun's father waved the guards and servants out of the courtroom and ushered his best friend into a chair. Renjun was then introduced to his godfather, a promise the friends had made back then when they were younger that they would be godparents to their children.

“I need help,” the Sun Fairies’ Crown Prince said once the guards and servants filed out of the room.

Renjun felt the ambience shifted when the Crown Prince said again, “I need your help. More specifically… your son’s help.”

Renjun raised his eyebrow at the statement, eyes rounding as he pointed to himself. The soon-to-be King of the Sun Fairies nodded, chuckling at his incredulous expression as he launched into an explanation. Renjun blinked as he absorbed the words that just spilled from the Heir’s lips.

The Sun Courts needed a Crown Prince. More specifically, this current Crown Prince’s son. Except, there were complications.

Before Renjun’s godfather had started his journey back home, he had sealed away his son’s powers with the help of his wife. He wanted him to lead a life without having to worry about the courts. Unfortunately — with the circumstances that he is in now — the Courts are not going to accept whatever he had hoped for and that he would be forced to remarry. But the spell was far too powerful to be undone, a miscalculation on his part and so now he needed Renjun to help tear down the seal he had placed on his son and awaken his powers.

It can only be him and no one else, he argued desperately when Renjun’s parents exchanged a worried look. Renjun’s father frowned at the plea while his wife rested a worried hand on his arm. It was a rather far-fetched theory to them that their son would be the supposed mate of the Sun Fairies’ own Heir to the throne. Renjun however, looked at his godfather eagerly, head bobbing as he nodded. A shiver running down his spine as his blood hummed, thrilled that the adventure Renjun seeks has finally arrived.

“Yes. I’ll do it for you,” Renjun smiled at his parents, nodding at them earnestly, reassuring them about the decision.

“I’ll help you for this, but in return, may I be granted permission to explore the woods behind the Sun Fairies’ court? There are magical ingredients scattered within it, it will help greatly in my potions!”

His parents acceded to his agreement and gave him a curt nod as the Crown Prince gave his word, promising him free access to the woods. He gripped his hand tightly, eyes benign and gentle, as he thanked Renjun over and over again. Renjun beamed at the older Fairy, heart soaring to a height he never thought it would soar to. He tuned out the conversation his parents were making, as he sat quietly at the side, munching on the sweet honey cake. Renjun allowed his mind to wander to the upcoming adventure he had _chosen_ to partake.

A piece of puzzle clicked into place within him, and Renjun felt like _something_ was finally going to happen.

——————————————

(The Fairy! Is coming! Oh, listen, the Fairy who is called a witch is coming!)

Donghyuck moved to this town when he was barely five, and as long as his memories remained, he had lived here long enough to see subtle changes in people’s ages. Previously, he lived in a huge house with a beautiful garden, and enough glass windows that allowed the natural sunlight to flood in. One day, his father had miraculously disappeared into the night, leaving him with his mother in the huge house. He remembered crying to sleep for months while his mother soothed him gently in bed, hands cold against his warm body.

Donghyuck remembers that his mother didn't cry.

After a few miserable months in the big, suffocating house, she packed up their things and moved into their current apartment in the human community. That house slowly became a house he remembered. Although, at the corner of his mind there is a fuzzy memory of a bigger house with cheerful conversations, complete with a beautiful porch and garden.

He remembers the glass walls of the first level, where sunlight floods into the house like it was nothing. He remembered that his mother forced him to drink a goblet of concoction every morning before he left for school. He always felt queasy after that but his mother had assured him that it was for his health.

(There is a witch-like Fairy coming to town, be careful, be cautious.)

Another thing that Donghyuck was warned to not reveal was that he hears a female voice in his ear. A _wind spirit_ his mother had mused when he first told her about the voice — he had started to hear her two weeks after his father’s mysterious disappearance. She looked at a distance, over his shoulders, and broke into a smile. She lowered her head carefully and Donghyuck felt a gust of winds near his neck. It took Donghyuck almost three months before he was allowed to know her name. He was whining to her every day and she just chuckled airily, a promise slipped past her as she agreed that one day he will know her name.

(Abergale. But call me Gale, that name is a mouthful.)

Donghyuck was brimming with happiness when she finally told him her name, and agreed to let him call her Gale as a nickname. He slowly got used to her presence and she even helped him to get used to replying in his head. It helped to reduce the amount of weird stares he gets when he walked on the streets and talked to himself. She was a blessing because when he entered the age of five, his body started to momentarily heat up on its own, and he was like a hot water bottle. It felt horrible and it made him feel icky and yucky all over. She found a way to be his personal aircon and he was so grateful for her help.

It wasn’t a bad feeling, it’s cooling and helps him to remain cool even in the hot summer days. He learnt to accept that he would have to live with this problem of not being able to regulate his body temperature. He spends most of his allowance buying ice popsicles to chew on or ice cubes to keep himself cool in summer. Once, he was even sent to the hospital because he had a heat stroke and his mother was so worried. Donghyuck swore never to let his mother worry anymore and took special care of his higher than average temperature.

Growing up with a wind spirit in his ears was a blessing.

Donghyuck might have been sociable but the children in his kindergarten liked to avoid him. Gale became his friend and would often play with him when the other children shunned him. Parents had complained more than once that Donghyuck made their children uncomfortable — it was the body heat, they whined and Donghyuck felt ashamed of himself. Soon enough, his mother stalked into the kindergarten and stared down his classmates’ parents before angrily telling the Principal that she will pull him out of class. Donghyuck remembered the apology falling from her lips, her eyes sorrowful as he pressed kisses across his face, the notion making him giggle happily.

He was transferred to a new kindergarten — to be exact, it was a hybrid kindergarten.

Donghyuck arrived in class, scared out of his wits, as his witch teacher led him to the front of the class. He heard curious mumbles as they took in his appearance and Donghyuck fidgeted in the hold of the teacher. He knew he was an odd one out, the only human in the midst of magical children. He let the teacher introduce him to the class, and gave everyone a warning to treat him kindly, before he ushered him to his seat. He sat in his chair quietly for the whole lesson and when it was break time, he was still silently sitting in his seat, head down with embarrassment.

There, he met Jaemin and Jeno. An angel and a demon.

Jaemin initiated the first contact, his fluffy, white feathered wings fluttering behind him as he opened them to stretch during the break. He shifted his chair over and smiled at Donghyuck angelically. He tugged the sulking boy beside him — it was Jeno — and Donghyuck recoiled when he saw the flames emitting from the strong-looking boy. Jaemin chided him to keep his flames to himself and turned back to Donghyuck.

“Hi, I’m Jeno… Oh, no. Wait! Let me try that again, I’m sorry! I’m Jaemin, he’s Jeno and we have been friends since birth! You’re Donghyuck, right?” Jaemin beamed at him, eyes crinkling into a smile, his pearly white teeth gleaming.

“I’m Jeno… you’re awfully warm for a human, are you okay?” Jeno asked, reaching a hand to touch his forehead, a frown replacing his smile.

Donghyuck nodded. “I have always been warmer than usual, it’s weird. people avoid me because of that.”

Jaemin made a loud unimpressed noise and held his hands, he turned up his smile and declared them friends. Jeno nodded eagerly and Donghyuck gave them a small smile of his own. Jaemin urged him to eat and promised him that they could group together for the playtime in the sandpit, but only if he finished his food. Donghyuck, eager to please, shoved food into his mouth and the two magical beings just laughed at his antics.

“Eat slowly, don't choke!” Jaemin scolded lightly.

“Yeah, and tell us if anyone dares to bully you… or shun away from you! We are your friends now… and we got your back!” Jeno promised, sharing his octopus weiner with Donghyuck, his eyes crinkling into folds.

“Thank you,” Donghyuck mumbled, his ear tip burned red.

He told Jaemin and Jeno about his wind spirit and they were so amazed by it. They did warn him with kindness that sure, hearing things in your head is cool and everything, but not everyone would take it in the right way. They in turn introduced him to their coven that was protected by Qian Kun, a very powerful witch. At their first meeting, he had immediately warned Donghyuck about keeping his wind friend a secret which Donghyuck nodded earnestly back. Donghyuck kept his little secret well to himself. He enjoyed the perks that came with it — he could avoid getting mugged on his way back, he could cheat effectively in tests (he did that once in high school out of curiosity and then owned up to the teacher after the test because he had felt bad) and he could definitely pick up random gossip of the town from his little voice-friend.

Donghyuck felt a weird sense of homeliness whenever he was with his magical friends and soon, Donghyuck realised that he simply doesn’t click with any human friends he had. Sure, he had his fair share of human friends but they didn’t stick around long. By the time Donghyuck realised, he was surrounded by friends from the magical world. They never made him feel left out — surprisingly, because he had always felt left out with his human friends — and always welcomed him to their circles. They would always ensure that his safety came first before others.

They have been through a lot together, and even as he is in university now, and he had never heard his friend be so excited for a new arrival in town before. Even Jaemin and Jeno were all ready to welcome the newcomer into their Coven. Donghyuck confused why would the Fairy — or was it Witch — be living with Kun, why wasn’t he with his parents instead, arriving in town alone.

(Aren’t you excited that the Witch is coming? We haven’t had a witch for a while, let alone a Fairy one.)

“What do you even mean, Gale?” Donghyuck asked, sulking as he chewed on a stick of ice.

(Silly boy, the Witch is actually a Fairy who knows witchcraft.)

Donghyuck nodded absentmindedly at the reply, hopping from one stone to another as he made his way home from school. The leaves are slowly losing their shade of green, turning into a mixture of orange and yellows. The dried up leaves floated down to the pavement, crunching beautifully under every step Donghyuck takes. He took care to watch his steps as he purposefully chose spots where the leaves would give the most delicious crunching sound under his shoes. His favourite season, Summer, was coming to an end and that means Fall is coming — Donghyuck’s second favourite season, just because he can be in turtlenecks and oversized sweaters.

He had spent his entire Summer days with Jeno and Jaemin, forlicking in the soft sand of Doyoung’s beach. Yangyang had to go home for the holidays, promising to bring back souvenirs for all of them. Chenle shrieked loudly when Jisung walked near the edge of the sea, pouting at him to be careful. He looked around, basking in the sunlight and the energy that his friends are giving off. Donghyuck thought he could really spend the rest of his days near Doyoung’s little hut by the sea.

Every trip to the beach, every time he soaked up all the vitamin D he could, he would always feel better afterwards. But right now, he was more worried about the calculus class test tomorrow — calculus is a pain in Donghyuck's ass and he had never quite understood it properly, just enough to pass his classes — than yet another magical being’s arrival in town.

Oh, Donghyuck should probably mention that the town he resides in is an integrated town where magical and non-magical folks reside peacefully with each other.

———————

There was a pack of werewolves residing in the Forest guarded by Johnny, the alpha of the pack and his partner Jaehyun. Jaehyun isn't a werewolf but instead a forest nymph that resides in the trees more than in the cabin that Johnny had built in the middle of the forest. Donghyuck thinks they are adorable like this, both have their individual boundaries yet they would kill for each other. He heard from a stayover at Johnny’s cabin during a school camp that was held at the camping ground along the borders of the forest.

They met at a pretty river and when Johnny found him on his fishing trip, he offered to let him sneak into the forest at night seeing how he was so excited to meet a werewolf. The werewolf made him promise that if anything happened, he had to promise to listen to him and trust him. Donghyuck nodded eagerly and met him at the edge of the forest when the teachers retreated to their own tents.

Donghyuck spent a night with the werewolf and his boyfriend and swooned at their love story.

Johnny imprinted on Jaehyun before he realised that he wasn’t even a wolf and they both suffered a heartbreak before Johnny’s own mentor told him “Just confess, interspecies love is allowed now, dumbass.” Johnny courted Jaehyun with flowers, preys and little trinkets he had found himself. Jaehyun was smitten by his actions, leaving his tree and clan to meet Johnny one night. They met by the river they had first seen each other and Jaehyun shyly gave him back a token of his love.

They got together under the moonlight (thankfully, not a full moon yet) and Johnny told him to be careful of the full moon — it was the night of Blood Moons. Jaehyun refused and had stayed with Johnny through his transformation, helping him with the pain, the discomfort and the after-transformation care. Johnny confessed about his imprinting and Jaehyun only laughed and threaded his hand in his hair and kissed him sweetly.

“Guess, I have to be with you forever now.”

Donghyuck looked at them with glassy eyes and crooned at the love story when Jaehyun blushed red and Johnny chased him to sleep. Donghyuck giggled and tumbled into the pile of fur that Johnny had laid out for him and slept really well in the werewolf’s cabin. Needless to say, he returned to their cabin whenever he could, often enough that his mother no longer batted an eyelash when he disappeared on Friday nights and returned smelling like the forest. He even managed to bring Jaemin and Jeno to the cabin and Jaehyun immediately adopted Jaemin as his own, and Johnny rolled his eyes at his partner’s affection.

Donghyuck met Lucas and Mark — Johnny’s cousin and the other wolf in his pack — one night when he was staying over. It was just him as Jaemin and Jeno weren’t free to come because Jeno got called back to Hell, and Donghyuck just let himself into the cabin. He was met with two wolves growling at him in the middle of the room and he just blinked at them.

“Erm, hi? I’m Donghyuck, Johnny gave me the keys!”

They stopped growling and the larger wolf, silver furred, padded over and sniffed him gingerly. He sneezed and gave him a lopsided smile before barking at the smaller sized wolf. They ran to the room adjacent to the living room, and returned as two males — one tall and with a massive ripped body while the smaller male had a toned body, hid behind him.

“I’m Lucas, and this is Mark. Mark’s Johnny’s cousin while I’m his mate.” Lucas beamed and stretched a warm hand out for him to shake.

The rest was history and Donghyuck finds himself making fast friends with the two younger wolves. Enough that when Johnny and Jaehyun returned, they watched them curled up together on the couch, Donghyuck sprawled across Lucas’s chest as they giggled at the TV show. The mates raised their eyebrow at the scene and Donghyuck just grinned at them, inviting them over with a loud “Johnny-hyung, come here.” After Jeno had returned from Hell, they were introduced to the two new family members of Johnny’s pack and the rest were history.

———————

It was a pure coincidence that he met Taeyong and Doyoung.

When summer made her way to town, Donghyuck had begged his mother endlessly to bring him to the beach which she begrudgingly agreed to. So there he was, happily frolicking in the warm sand as his mother rested in the shades. She called out a worried “be careful!” as he tumbled his way closer to the edge of the sea. The beach was pretty empty that day and she watched over her son playing in the distance. He was happily skipping across the soft and warm sand when his feet caught a sharp rock and he went down with a yelp. He whimpered when he felt his blood gushing from the cut on his feet — sticky, wet and disgusting. He willed his tears down and hobbled on his feet when a loud cry from the waters stopped his movement.

“What the heck are you doing, _dumbass_!”

A beautiful male stepped out of the water and Donghyuck glimpsed a shimmery tail disappearing into a pair of slender legs. He looked down and the merman came closer, nearly tripping over his own feet. He stopped before Donghyuck and told him — no, he _commanded_ him to hold on to his shoulders — to let him check his feet. Clicking his tongue with annoyance and he looked up, features softening when he noticed how scared Donghyuck looked, as he brushed a stray strand of hair off Donghyuck’s face.

“You won’t be able to walk, let me get my dumb boyfriend ov— YAH! LEE TAEYONG MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND GET YOUR ASS OVER!”

 _A siren_! Donghyuck’s scared mind spit out as he looked at the beautiful man before him.

Sirens — according to the books he had read in Kun’s intensive library, are utterly beautiful women and males are unusually rare. He gaped at the male before him as he softly hummed and sang under his breath to calm Donghyuck down. It worked — obviously, he is a _siren_ after all — and when he heard a deeper male voice, he looked up to another beautiful male. He felt the male lift him up and the merman kept his hand gentle on his head as they made their way back to the little hut beside the surfing equipment shop.

He learnt about them, as Doyoung the Siren gently tended to his cut and Taeyong the Seer sprinkled some magical water that smelled wonderful — a little mint, a little lemon, and _was that lavender?_ His eyes widened when he realised that they were the friends that Johnny and Jaehyun had talked about often. He shyly asked them about their meeting, curious if it was exciting like Johnny’s. Doyoung rolled his eyes as Taeyong indulged him with their first meeting.

Taeyong was a Seer on board a ship as the superstitious captain insisted that they needed one for all their voyages. He was to look out for upcoming storms and bad weather while keeping an eye for potential treasures. It was fast and quick money and it brought about an adventure Taeyong wanted. Doyoung spent his days on a rock, out in the deep waters, luring unsuspecting sailors in to yell at them for their stupidity to set sail in shitty weather. He hardly used his voice to eat his prey but his supreme vocals had brought countless comfort to homesick sailors. He sang about a warm home, about found families and broken love. The sailors loved him as long as they don’t do anything stupid that would earn them a scolding.

They met in an unusual way. Taeyong was aboard a ship and the sailors were lured in by Doyoung's voice, who was trying to get them to safety. Their eyes met in the distance and Taeyong knew he found the person his visions had shown him. When the ship moved out of the danger zone, Doyoung offered him a tiny smile and slipped back into the waters. Taeyong couldn't shake the image of the beautiful man out of his mind and so he went to look for him. He swam out to the rocks he last saw Doyoung on and called for him. A head bobbed up from underwater as Doyoung peeked from another rock and tilted his head in question. Taeyong smiled and that was it. Doyoung swam closer and they bonded over songs, food and some drinks.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy for them as it was for Johnny and Jaehyun but their friends had been supportive. The two of them got together slowly — testing out boundaries and restrictions, how long can Doyoung stay away from the sea. Before Doyoung swam up to his King and begged to leave the sea to build a life with Taeyong by his side. Taeyong promised him that they would live near the sea, allowing Doyoung to return to his home anytime he wanted to. So they opened a little surfing equipment rental shop, just by the sea. It was just last summer when Doyoung finally pulled a ring out and proposed.

Taeyong had cried and Doyoung chided him for being childish but he shed a few tears of his own.

———————

It’s funny how the magical beings Donghyuck made friends with are all somewhat friends with each other as well. After his mishap with the sharp rock, Donghyuck found a routine to turn up at their hut every summer — “Please, Donghyuck… with all respect, please stop coming for free food and other things,” Doyoung whined and Taeyong just kissed him lightly on the cheeks — and there he met Ten, the Shapeshifter. The man was leaning over the counter to _flirt_ with Taeyong while Doyoung yelled at him for not staying put. Ten turned to Donghyuck and nudged Taeyong on the shoulder, giving Donghyuck a once through.

“Whose kid is this?”

Donghyuck flushed under the implication that he is part of the magical folk community as he shook his head.

“I’m Donghyuck, a human. Doyoung-hyung healed my wound the last time, so I have been coming back to annoy him.”

Ten laughed out loud, throwing his head back, as tears dripped down from his eyes and Doyoung made a loud noise at Donghyuck's statement. He reached over and ruffled Donghyuck’s hair gently before he introduced himself to the human boy. Ten Lee — he goes by Li Yongqin and Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul as well but Donghyuck gave up after his fifth try to pronounce the longer one — is the mischievous Shapeshifter that he had heard from Kun. Donghyuck greeted him shyly before Ten leaned in and sniffed his shoulders lightly, eyebrow furrowing with confusion.

“Why do you smell like Kun?”

Donghyuck blinked, sniffing his tank top and tilted his head in confusion. Jeno ran up with a loud “Ten-hyung!” and Jaemin collided into the small man joyously. Ten grinned at him, ruffling their hair gently like he did to Donghyuck. He turned back to Donghyuck before asking Jaemin if Kun adopted a human into his coven. Jaemin shook his head and Ten took another sniff at Donghyuck, making the boy scurried behind Doyoung. Doyoung held a hand out and fixed an unamused glare at Ten, stance protective as he matched Ten in a staring match.

“I don’t know what is it between you and Kun — I mean, Kun had told me some part of it, but he didn’t indulge me with specifics — but I do not, in any possible way, allow you to scare this kid because you’re going feral at a _human_ for having Kun’s scent on him.”

Ten looked down guiltily and nodded, backing off immediately, perched close to Taeyong, his tail had emerged and was swishing forlornly behind him. Donghyuck peeked from behind Doyoung as Jeno shifted close to Ten, both of their tails swished together. Jaemin leaned onto Donghyuck’s shoulders, a hand rubbing comforting circles on his waist. Donghyuck was curious why this shapeshifter was so hung up about Kun’s smell on others — Jeno had mentioned that it is territorial when someone scents you, especially for the wolf clans. Donghyuck watched him cautiously before he slipped out from behind Doyoung, and approached the shapeshifter carefully.

He gave the slender man a smile and just grabbed the beach ball out of its shelf before he turned to Jaemin and Jeno, one feet out of the door, as he yelled “Last one to the spot, pays for the ice later!” and dashed out. Jaemin lazily pushed off from the counter he was leaning on and grabbed Jeno as they dashed out of the door after Donghyuck. Ten watched them pranced off into the settling sun, turning to the married couple.

“Is he?” Ten asked tentatively, the question hung in the air thickly.

Doyoung shook his head but kept his lips zipped from indulging more information. He gave Taeyong a glare to warn him to not spill unnecessary information. Ten never questioned why Doyoung was so hostile toward him, he doesn’t really flirt with Taeyong anymore — they shared a past together but the moment Taeyong told him that he was going to court the siren, he had backed off completely — and he had asked Taeyong if he was making Doyoung uncomfortable with his presence. Ten bit his lips and pouted slightly before Doyoung hissed at him and huffed angrily to the kitchen. Taeyong covered his lips to muffle his laughter as Ten shot him a deadly glare.

“Talk to Kun, Tennie. It’s obvious that both of you are pining for each other, just _talk to him_ for the sake of everyone.” Taeyong advised him kindly, eyes void of any forms of pity or annoyance.

———————

Kun is one of the town’s oldest inhabitants, and the only magical tea house the town offers. Sure, Donghyuck doesn't necessarily know a lot of witches, but the ones he had met were the sweetest bunch he had ever met. Funnily, Kun’s current coven was hardly filled with witches but more of an assortment of magical beings that Kun had adopted over the years.

In the afternoons spent in his extensive library of magical books that he allowed Donghyuck to browse through, Kun shared his tales over the years. He had housed many magical beings in his coven and had gone on countless adventures to various realms and became acquainted with various magical folks across the globe. He was well-versed in languages and Donghyuck had heard him slipping into various tongues while he stayed over.

Kun’s current coven consisted of Jeno and Jaemin who moved in when they graduated from high school, they swore to not leave each other’s side and they couldn’t stay long in either the Heavens or Hell, so Kun took them in immediately. He saved a lost poltergeist called Chenle who was at the brink of a painful exorcism when Kun stepped in and yelled at the priest for being cruel and choosing the most harmful way of exorcising a ghost or poltergeist. He bound Chenle to himself and quickly brought him back to house and nursed the young poltergeist back to health. He offered a home to Chenle who took it up gratefully, he had been floating around and had longed for a home to call his own.

Next came Jisung, a water nymph who resided in the lake deep within the forest where Johnny and Jaehyun’s pack lived. Johnny reached out to Kun one day, over tea and tasty Chinese pastries and told him that he knew of a water nymph who couldn’t swim to save his life. Kun’s concern and curiosity peaked as he asked Johnny to lead him to the poor nymph. It turned out to be Jisung — and ironically on the verge of drowning, much to Jungwoo the merman residing in the lake’s exasperation — and Kun immediately leapt in to save him. As Jisung warmed up by the fire that Kun started, munching on the dinner offered by Jaehyun, Kun offered Jisung a place in his coven with a promise of a large tub for him to soak and sleep in. Jisung peered at him with large innocent eyes and nodding happily, following Kun home immediately that night.

Notably, his coven was way bigger back then, when he had a dragon called Xiao Dejun and another witch that went by Hendery Wong lived amongst them. They were a tight knit family until Dejun decided to set off on an adventure with Hendery. Just months before they set off into their own journey across the globe, Kun received a human sized package from his oldest friends: the Phoenix clan.

Yangyang, the second in line Phoenix Prince, was sent to him to learn about the world and Kun was entrusted with his safety. Kun was there during his birth and Yangyang was quick to immerse himself into the family. He was the one who cried the most when Dejun and Hendery left for their adventure. They had a _Zouwu_ that went by the name of Dong Sicheng and he had wandered off radar — the only signs of him were the postcards he sent them once a few months.

The last person of the old coven was Ten.

According to what Jeno and Jaemin had told Donghyuck, Ten was the oldest and longest member of Kun’s old coven. He was even around when they joined and Yangyang had always looked up to him — the mentor that always left his lips was actually the sharp-eyed shapeshifter. When Yangyang first joined, it was always Ten who accompanied him in his quarterly shifts into a phoenix. Soon after Dejun and Hendery left, Yangyang begged him to take him as an apprentice and Ten had happily agreed. Even after he left Kun’s coven for no known reason, Yangyang would stop by daily for a couple of hours to train under Ten.

Donghyuck found out one day that Kun had a list of ‘Children I need to fret over’ list and Yangyang took the top spot for it. They had teased him about the Fret List which Yangyang just beamed, relishing in the attention that his parents (read: Kun and Ten) showered him with.

Kun had enchanted the list to guard and protect over the members of his coven. On one of his visits, Donghyuck had witnessed first-handedly how it worked. One fine afternoon, as Donghyuck was sipping tea with Kun in his cosy kitchen, there was a loud wail from the List sitting on the mantelpiece in the kitchen. Donghyuck leapt from his seat and Kun just stared at the list, muttering something under his breath. The list blared out a loud “DROWN!” and Donghyuck jumped again at the loud noise as Kun ruffled his hair to calm him down. Donghyuck heard him mutter “Jisung, water, Jungwoo can you please…” as he made his way around gathering his things. Donghyuck followed him as he sprinted out of his house to the lake where Jungwoo was cuddling with Jisung who was shivering a lot. Kun lit a fire and encased it in a jar before passing it to the shivering boy.

Their group of friends had teased Jisung about the incident but Donghyuck felt warm when he recognised that it was a way for Kun to protect his own younglings.

———————

Kicking the loose stones on the pathway, Donghyuck found himself wondering, as he made his way back home, if the new witch was going to be part of Kun’s coven when he arrives in a few days. There have been a handful of new arrivals over the past few weeks — Yuta, an old friend of the adults, had returned from his trip back home and with a shy five-tailed fox trailing behind him. Donghyuck met Shotaro who had the prettiest eye smiles he had seen. Shotaro spoke softly but he managed to slip into their friend groups well, already joining in to the shenanigans that Jaemin and Yangyang had plotted.

Then came the great news of a new addition to Johnny’s pack. Sungchan, adopted by Jaehyun and Johnny when Jaehyun found him shivering in the woods, one cold rainy night. He was lanky and packed a powerful stamina. He joined Johnny in morning hunts and turned out to be an excellent addition to the clique because _he is absolutely insane_ and up for any ridiculous ideas they had thought up. He turned out to be close to Chenle’s age and stuck by the poltergeist whenever he could ever since he realised that. He was a somewhat permanent stature to the Coven when school projects piled up and the forest was too far to return to.

He slipped into the apartment and greeted his mother with a peck on her cheeks. They chatted about his day briefly before an incoming call from a client cut off their conversation. She gave him an apologetic look which Donghyuck cuddled away before mutely waving to his mom as he returned to his room. He wore the magical necklace that Kun had charmed to protect him from the magical folks and slipped into a pair of frayed jeans and a loose sweater. He gave himself a once over in the mirror before he mouthed a goodbye to his mother and went to his part time job at Moon’s Bookstore.

The bookstore was owned by Moon Taeil, a Sphinx who takes the form of a human, and he is the coolest boss Donghyuck had ever worked for. He pays good and his store is often populated by the magical folks who had all taken to Donghyuck’s charms.

(Sooo, the Witch arrives on Friday! How exciting.)

Donghyuck laughed, startling a dragon youngling next to him, Donghyuck apologised and stroked his scales gently to calm him down.

“You seemed oddly excited, Gale. And shouldn’t we be calling the Witch a Fairy instead?”

(Well, if he doesn’t act like a Fairy, why should we call him that? And it seems that he has no preference to be called a witch or a Fairy so who cares. It will be so exciting for you, I can’t wait to see your face when you meet him.)

“Me? What has her arrival got to do with me?” Donghyuck chuckled and waved at Johnny who walked in with a cup of coffee in his hand.

(Oh, young one… you wouldn’t know… also, I said he didn’t. Pay attention, young one!)

Donghyuck snorted at the unimpressed, scolding tone of his friend and flashed the werewolf a bright smile. He hasn't seen the older man since the full moon but from what he had been hearing from Lucas, they seemed to be recovering well from the transformation. He watched the werewolf take another sip of the iced black coffee, grimacing slightly at the thought of ingesting that bitter liquid. He could never understand how anyone could ingest such a bitter drink on a daily basis.

“Hello Johnny!” Donghyuck greeted, coming behind the counter to grab another two boxes of the new arrivals.

The two dragon younglings came up to purchase the books and he ruffled their hair gently, watching the little puffs of flames burst out of their mouths as they giggled in their conversation. They are adorable and Donghyuck does have a soft spot for children, be it magical or human. Johnny was leaning over the counter, shamelessly fake flirting at Taeil who humoured him with soft humming and grunts to acknowledge his attempts.

“Hello youngling…” Johnny grinned as he winked at Taeil.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and finished ringing up their orders, laughing at the warmth of their uncontrolled flames caressing his hand as they thanked him and ran out of the shop. The door opened and Jaemin stepped in, shaking his wings off as he beamed at Johnny, holding one of his monster six-shot americano in his hand. Behind him, Jeno stepped into view with a swirl of black mass and smiled at Donghyuck. Jeno shot Johnny a wary look, eyes squinting at the werewolf as he hovered closely to Jaemin, making Johnny roll his eyes at him.

“Okay, demon… you don’t have to glare at me like this, I’m already mated with Jaehyun, so Jaeminnie here is all yours, don’t worry...” Johnny bites back a smile as Jaemin winked at him.

Jeno flushed red and looked away, clearly embarrassed that his intention was called out. Jaemin cooed at him, and reached a hand up to cup his cheeks endearingly. Donghyuck looked away and picked up the two boxes again, ducking behind the new arrivals shelf to finally place the books on the shelf. He read the covers, hummed at the content of the spell book as he shelved them back smoothly. He heard Johnny chimed goodbye a couple of minutes later, and Jeno approached him with Jaemin in tow. They both wore similar smiles on their face and Donghyuck’s pathetic human senses heightened a little, glancing at them warily.

“Hyuckie, Kun-ge says he will be throwing a party for the newest addition to the coven on Friday, he asked us to invite you along, so will you be able to come?” Jaemin chirped sweetly, and Jeno nodded beside him.

Donghyuck peered at the two of them surprised. “What?”

Jeno beamed and Jaemin rolled his eyes, making Donghyuck wonder if they were swapped at birth for Jaemin was far more sinister than Jeno. He planned out all their tricks and plans with Yangyang, while Jeno kept them all in line with the law and kept them out of any immediate danger and unforeseeable troubles. Donghyuck shook his head at the thoughts before he gave them an affirmative response to the invite. Kun was brilliant and his parties were always fun to attend, not only so, his mom had always been enamoured by the older man. He was intrigued by his wind friend’s uncontainable excitement for the witch, and he could already hear the whispers in his ears when the invitation was casted.

(Oh, Donghyuck… you _are_ in for a treat…)

Donghyuck raised an eyebrow at his friend and brushed it off. Jeno and Jaemin stuck around more, talking to Taeil as Jeno looked around for a new book to read. He found one, paid for it and they waved goodbye to Donghyuck, stepping out of the store. Donghyuck couldn’t wait for Friday to come, his interest in the Fairy is accumulating and it seems that it won’t be sated until he finally meets the mysterious new addition in town. It seemed to have motivated him because by the time his shift ended slightly before the curfew for humans, he was already almost done with the new arrivals for the week.

Taeil chuckled at his efficiency and reminded him about the curfew. Donghyuck gasped and quickly hung up his apron and waved at the old sphinx as he darted down the street to make it back into the apartment before the curfew. He reached his house just in time for the gates to slam shut behind him and he slowly walked to his unit, panting from the sprint he did. He tiptoed into the house quietly, knowing that his mother would have already fallen asleep. He picked up the note she left on the table, smiling as he helped himself to the freshly baked cookies in the jar. He jumped into the shower, washing away the tiredness from school and work before he threw himself into bed immediately.

“Good night, Gale,” Donghyuck muttered sleepily, also drifting to sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

(Good night, Hyuckie.)

Donghyuck’s excitement for the party was contagious and it was hard to hide from his friends in school. Yangyang had teased him endlessly for it, and it turned out that Sungchan and Shotaro had both enrolled into the courses. They were all going to be there for the party since most of them are part of Kun’s coven. It was even more exciting for them since it is like gaining a new family member. Donghyuck was trembling with anticipation — something gnawed at the corner of his heart, tugging it sharply, leaving him confused. Somewhere deep in his heart, Donghyuck knew that the feeling he was experiencing went deeper than curiosity and anticipation.

——————————————

Friday did come quickly, and before it fully registered in Donghyuck’s mind, he was already out of school. Donghyuck tumbled with his haste to get home so that he could freshen up and change into the outfit he had specially planned for the party. He had exactly three hours before waiting for one of his friends to come and pick him up. Donghyuck left a pastel purple post-it on the dining table to remind his mother about the party before he slid into the showers and refreshed himself.

Toweling his hair dry, he squeezed himself into his best pair of light grey jeans and a plain baby blue turtleneck paired with a long navy blue coat. Donghyuck checked himself in the mirror, frowning before grabbing a necklace and clasping it over his neck, adding an ear cuff to his ears. Even though none of the magical folks had ever made him feel inferior about himself, Donghyuck still feels rather boring — you can’t _blame him_ because he is just a _human_ and the rest of his friends are _cool magical folks_.

Heck, even Yangyang got to be a phoenix and Donghyuck knew that they’re super rare, which is _so unfair_ because it makes him really valuable and also a free pass to get away with any pranks played. He was shocked when Yangyang first told him after he offered his warmth to Donghyuck during one of the lectures Yangyang came to crash. He felt Donghyuck shiver in his seat, freezing his butt off, and just very calmly offered his body to cuddle up. Donghyuck did hope to leave a good impression on the Fairy and that he doesn’t think of him too badly.

Humans are boring and at this very instance, Donghyuck wished he was someone or a species cooler.

His doorbell rang and Ten stood politely behind the door. He was quick to realise that Donghyuck’s mother wasn’t home and grinned impishly at Donghyuck. He looked at the whole outfit that Donghyuck was dressed in and gave a little noise of approval. He waited by the door for Donghyuck to slide into his shoes and double check his lights, making sure that he had switched off everything he could. They stepped out into the cold autumn air as they quietly made their way over to Kun’s house.

Boy, was Donghyuck pleased to be wearing warm clothes out. He was once again filled with unspoken jealousy for the magical beings' lack of regard to the changing weather.

They stepped into Kun’s house with Ten whispering the password to the enchanted ghoul statue for admission. Donghyuck perked up when he heard his name leaving the shapeshifter’s lips. The gate opened up and Ten wasted no time to shift into a bird and calmly glided to the porch area. Ten waved at him from where he had landed and Donghyuck pouted slightly. He quickly followed suit by stepping deftly on the stone path leading to the porch, effortlessly clearing the protective charm on them, and achieving a stable and comfortable landing on the porch too.

He sends the shapeshifter a blinding smug smile which Ten rolled his eyes in response. Donghyuck was about to reach for the brass knocker on the door when the door opened, and Doyoung grins at him.

“Hello, Donghyuck!” He chimed, voice sounding melodious as usual.

“And Ten…” Ten muttered under his breath.

“Shut it, shapeshifter.”

“Heed your own advice, fish.”

Doyoung hissed at him in mock anger and Donghyuck coughed to get the attention back to him as he greeted the siren happily. Doyoung stretched a hand out to ruffle his hair gently, Donghyuck preening under the affection the older male was showering him in. They followed Doyoung in quickly and as Ten went to get drinks, Donghyuck made his way to where his friends were crowding around a table near the bar. The group harmonised a loud “welcome sunshine” when they took in his arrival, and they clinked glasses. Ten slid into the group with a tray of drinks and everyone cheered for him, quickly swapping out their drinks for the new ones Ten bought.

(Darling, you might want to sit this one out…)

Donghyuck raised an eyebrow at what Gale had warned and looked up to see Ten giving him an impish smile. His eyes widened as realization hit him and Donghyuck quickly lowered his own glass before he could take a sip. Yangyang winked at him from across the table, and Ten returned the wink lazily. Oh, they planned this alright. Donghyuck willed a chuckle from escaping his lips, as he gingerly placed the glass back on the table, pushing it as far away from himself as possible. If past experiences had taught him well, never leave anything made by Ten or Yangyang to fate. It will not turn well.

Sure enough, the table erupted with a chorus of chokes and curses as those who drank choked up at the fiery alcohol.

“An actual Firewhiskey and none of those Harry Potter shit!” Yangyang shrieked in delight, high-fiving his mentor Ten as they beamed happily at the coughing group.

“How the heck does Donghyuck even know not to drink it?” Jeno glares at him, a few wisps of smoke emitted from his hair.

“Maybe you should heighten your awareness when Ten and Yangyang are _both_ in the same place,” Donghyuck retorted.

“Gale, that’s not fair!” Chenle whined, pouting as Gale caused his hair to flutter a little.

The group groaned in frustrations and Yangyang beamed at him across the table. Jeno muttered darkly under his breath but one look from Ten got them all muted. Ten had marked the young phoenix as his own kin and would definitely, no questions asked, slit someone's throat for anyone who dares to even come near him or propose to harm him. Kun cleared his throat behind them and Ten batted his eyelashes at him seductively, which was reciprocated with Kun raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him, clearly unamused. Ten pouted at him, lower lip jutting out, as he latched himself on Kun’s arms, blinking prettily up at him.

Kun removed his arm from Ten’s grip, the table sighed when they watched Ten’s face contort into a look of disappointment before he schooled it into a neutral expression. Kun smiled at the team and tugged a petite but _pretty_ boy to stand beside him. Donghyuck felt air escaping his throat when he locked eyes with the newcomer. He felt a little breathless and a little dizzy as he drank in the sight in front of him.

They matched.

The Fairy was dressed in a simple _white_ turtleneck and a beige coat with a pair of dark blue jeans. The Fairy widened his eyes as he took in Donghyuck’s appearance before he let out a breathy giggle. Donghyuck blushed a little when he realised that the Fairy had noticed their matching outfits and looked down on his shoes. When Donghyuck finally mustered enough courage to glance up from his shoes, he raked his eyes up to meet with a pair of shining brown orbs, Donghyuck felt his world shifting into place.

Ethereal was the only word that came to his mind.

(Liked what you see?)

Donghyuck growled at Gale to quiet down as he felt like someone had pressed the mute button. He held the stranger’s gaze, feeling himself get pulled into the deep, star-filled orbs. The spell breaks when the eye contact breaks and he hears a soft chime of laughter from the stranger. Kun beams happily at the group as he introduces the newcomer. Donghyuck could hear Gale chuckling into his ear as she twirled around him, resting a comforting touch on his shoulder. He wasn’t really focused on the conversation around him as he continued to stare at the witch - it’s Fairy, his mind reminded him - to a point where it is probably getting to be kind of rude.

(His name is Huang Renjun, by the way. I know you blanked out when Kun said it just now…)

Damn it, how did Gale know?

Donghyuck swatted at her touch on the shoulder and bit back a hiss. He heard mixed gasps of awe when Renjun shyly introduced himself as a Moon Fairy. Donghyuck a couple seconds late, took a sharp intake of breath and gaped at the petite boy. Moon Fairies have got to be one of the rarest species of Fairies along with the Sun Fairies. That’s what the Magic History textbook said, and what Donghyuck can faintly remember.

If the dumb 900 page History textbook was right, Moon Fairies only made up 2% of the Fairy population (the same goes for the Sun Fairies while the Starlight Fairies fare a little better at 4%). Moon Fairies are also the most secluded and most pure blooded of the Fairy species. No one knows where they dwell, they just know that they gain their powers from the silvery orb hanging in the sky, and are the strongest when night falls.

He heard Jaemin chuckling as Jeno apologised goodnaturedly that “our dear human is stunned because knowing him, he is probably recalling what the boring History module had taught us about Moon Fairies,” and Donghyuck snapped his mouth shut. He turned red with embarrassment, schooling his facial expression to something neutral. Renjun giggled at his expression, as his wings fluttered prettily behind him, casting iridescent light all over their area. Their eyes met again, and this time Renjun offered him a little smile.

“Hello, human.” Renjun greeted, voice airy and light.

“Hello, Fairy.” Donghyuck replies, fidgeting slightly as the embarrassment from just now ebbed away.

“You seemed rather special for a human,” Renjun hummed, leaning in and taking a deep whiff of him, as Donghyuck felt Gale shifting around him protectively.

Renjun looked amused for a second at his uncomfortableness before he schooled his expression to a neutral one. Donghyuck arched his right eyebrow at the change of expression as Renjun’s eyes crinkled into half crescents. He watched the Fairy raise his hand as a spell crackled and danced on his palm. A challenging smirk appeared on Renjun as he took a step closer to Donghyuck. Kun made a low sound of caution and Ten looked like he was ready to throw himself between Donghyuck and Renjun. Yangyang had moved to stand behind Donghyuck, his warmth prickling the back of Donghyuck’s neck.

“I wonder why… why do you feel so special?” Renjun asked softly, stopping just a breath away from Donghyuck.

Donghyuck smirked, leaning closer to the petite boy as the table watched their interaction. He was pleased to see that he was one–two inches taller than the Fairy, as he looked down on him. He knew Gale was watching the Fairy cautiously, ready to pounce the moment he is in slight danger, but something in him tells Donghyuck that Renjun meant no harm. He tilted his head at Renjun and watched his movement curiously. Kun made another stressed noise and Ten stood beside him, mumbling something into his ear. Donghyuck watched Kun relax a little under the gentle strokes of Ten’s hand on his arm, Renjun coughed to get his attention back, and Donghyuck turned to face the amused witch in front of him.

“Want to find out yourself?” Donghyuck retorted back, a smile stretching across his face.

Two can play this game indeed.

Renjun’s laughter sounded like a wind chime as he giggled at Donghyuck’s retort. He moved fast as he threw a feint punch and his other hand came around to attack which Donghyuck side stepped and dodged. Renjun raised an eyebrow at his feint and Donghyuck just smirked as Gale calmly blew a small gust of wind towards the Fairy, pushing the spell back. Renjun stopped cautiously, narrowing his eyes at Donghyuck, eyes shifting to follow the movements of air around him. The Fairy chuckled under his breath as his stance eased off a little, the tiny flare of anger simmered down to curiosity. Donghyuck sees a flash of understanding and something else that he couldn’t quite perceive before it disappeared into the depth of his eyes.

“I haven’t met a human who is so attuned to his element, you’re a special one Lee Donghyuck.” Renjun purred appreciatively, hands reaching up to sprinkle a little Fairy dust on his head.

Donghyuck could hear Kun deflating at the back as the tension dissipated. He caught the eyes of the Fairy again and they shared a chuckle, Donghyuck straightened up. Renjun’s hands brushed his cheeks when he lowered it, sending a delightful shiver down Donghyuck’s back as he drew his hand back to his chest. They stared at each other for a while, Donghyuck felt his self-consciousness seep back into his body, as Renjun gave him another million watt smile. Donghyuck bit his lips, fighting the urge to step over the line and pinch his cheeks between his index fingers and thumbs.

“You’re not so bad yourself, darling,” Donghyuck cooed back, choosing to hold his hand out in a very human-like greeting.

Renjun chuckled again at his antics and took his hand into a firm shake. Donghyuck felt a shot of electricity zapping up his arm as Renjun reached his free hand up to brush off the Fairy dust on his fringe. Kun makes a noises of relief and Donghyuck could hear the teasing from Ten as the rest of the table relaxed completely. Donghyuck felt the love and protection his non-human friends had just blatantly displayed - the need to attack Renjun if he does hurt Donghyuck in his little way. Donghyuck pulled himself out of the thought and found the starry orbs that sat within Renjun fox-like eyes staring back at him curiously.

Then comes the low hum in his mind, and from what he had tried before with Jeno and Jaemin, this was an indication of telepathy.

And it was indeed an attempt in telepathy.

_**It’s really nice meeting you, Sunshine. And you too, Abergale.** _

(Oh shit, no way. Damn you, Fairy.)

Donghyuck heard Renjun’s laughter in his mind as he wobbled a little which prompted Renjun to look at him concerningly, his hand holding on to his arms. His eyes bore into his and Renjun shifted his hand to his face, his thumb brushing against his cheek before he pulled away, a coy smile on his lips. Renjun nodded to the rest of the group and let himself be dragged away to meet the rest of Kun’s friends. Donghyuck felt, no heard, a loud intense thudding on head and Gale whispered into his mind, soothing the loud bass pounding on his head.

(It’ll take some getting used to, don’t worry you’ll feel better in a while.)

Donghyuck nodded and Ten raised a glass of iced water to his lips, motioning for him to drink slowly. Donghyuck sank into one of the stools and rubbed his temples painfully. That felt weird, definitely. But Donghyuck doesn't know if that warm shiver that sprinted down his spine when Renjun's voice sounded in his head was because of it being weird or another matter all the same. He looked down and his shoulders sagged with relief when he didn't see a _problem_ in his pants. The group hovered over him carefully, Jaemin was already fretting over his headache and the rest were making sure he was alright when Yangyang quipped mischievously.

“A-class flirting there Hyuckie, I swore the sexual tension had never been so thick before.”

The group snickered and Donghyuck just hissed at them, fake lunging at his friends. His face burned with a deep, scorching blush as he felt the ghost of Renjun’s hand on his cheeks, he gulped down the remaining water in his glass. He avoided Renjun for the rest of the night because he is an idiot, and he doesn't quite know how to act around the other boy yet.

Funnily so, when he was about to leave the party — times like this Donghyuck really hates the stupid curfew the mayor had set in place for _humans_ because why are they not allowed to be out past 11pm? — and Renjun magically appeared beside him. The petite Fairy gave him a tiny smile and offered him a hand, which Donghyuck took because he’s an idiot, allowing Renjun to tug him onto the streets.

They walked in silence, after Renjun let his hand go, Donghyuck leading the way back to his house. Renjun quickened his steps, falling into a pace beside Donghyuck, letting their hands bump into each other. As they rounded towards the gates, Renjun paused in his steps and turned to him, carefully analysing him with his sharp, fox-like eyes. Donghyuck blinked, slightly taken aback by the sharp gaze when Renjun spun on his toes to face him properly. Renjun chuckled at his reaction, holding his hands clasped together in front of him, as he peered up at him, head tilting curiously.

“Are you feeling better now?” Renjun asked softly, his eyes gentle and curious.

Donghyuck nodded and Renjun gave him a tiny smile, his shoulders snagging in relief. Renjun reached for his hand, fingers running across the lines and knobs on Donghyuck’s hand, soft fleeting touches brushed on to his skin. Donghyuck watched the petite boy gently turn his hand around, his fingers tracing a faint marking on his palm, before he blew a little dust on it, lips moving to form an incantation. Donghyuck watched his palm light up in a warm bluish light, and the marking shone a while before it fades to nothingness. Renjun beams at him, his thumb running over the palm, as he reached up to brush his fringe gently again.

“Drop by Kun’s shop to chat with me whenever you’re free… You have intrigued me, Lee Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck nodded and broke into a smile as he raised his hand to Renjun’s cheeks, his smile softened as Renjun leaned into his touch. Donghyuck could feel his skin prickling under his hand, a slight breeze picking up around them, tousling their hair.

Almost as if the moon was calling him, Renjun released his wings under the moonlight.

Donghyuck let out a soft, shaky breath at the sight of Renjun’s pearl-white wings fluttering behind him, glittering under the moonlight. Renjun shuddered a little, his wings shaking behind him, as Donghyuck just gaped, like a fool he is, at the sheer beauty of Renjun. His breath got caught in his throat and Renjun pressed a cold hand to his cheek, gently pulling him out of the trance he went into. Renjun smiled and Donghyuck felt like his entire surrounding lit up in his presence. A low murmur of _something_ crept up in his guts and he tried to suppress the feelings that were boiling over while cooking in his stomach.

Renjun himself looked like he was glowing under the moonlight.

Donghyuck stretched his hand towards Renjun, who tilted his head slightly at his action before he placed his own hand in his. Renjun’s feet lifted from the ground and he was hovering above Donghyuck slightly, and Donghyuck felt his breathing stopped at the sight. Renjun with his wings spread out behind him, beating slowly as he bounced in the air, his hand still in Donghyuck's warm ones.

So damn _beautiful_. So damn _ethereal_. So damn _breathtaking_.

Donghyuck grips on his wrist and pulls him closer, his lips pressed against the Fairy’s wrist, as he let him go and slipped past the gates. His heart thundered in his ribcage as he spared a look back at Renjun, still hovering where he had left him. Donghyuck felt an unspoken emotion swell up within him when Renjun gave him a wave before he flew back to Kun’s house, leaving a trail of sparkly Fairy dust behind. He washed up quietly, and slipped into his covers, pulling his blanket up to his chin.

That night, Donghyuck dreamt of a Moon Fairy and his pretty, little charming face.

——————————————

He woke up to a tiny little potion bottle sitting on his desk, with a pretty little lilac note that read “Drink this, it will help you feel better, I probably shouldn’t have tried telepathy last night. Rest well, human.”

Donghyuck rubbed his temple painfully, holding onto the crystal bottle carefully between his fingers. It was made of crystal and it sparkles under the sun, reflecting iridescent light within his room. He pulled the glass stopper off and took a tentative sniff at the concoction cautiously. He knew Renjun wouldn’t hurt him as there is a treaty involved, but if anything the magical folks - read: Yangyang and Ten - had taught him, it’s always good to play safe. He took a gulp, draining the contents in one sip and felt his headache dissipate almost immediately.

Donghyuck smiled and packed the little bottle into his school bag and quickly got ready for school. He was planning to drop by Kun’s tea house later after class, before his shift at Taeil’s bookstore, just so he could return the little vital back to the Fairy. Donghyuck's university was a mixed university but the human and magical folks have separate curriculums. He had been a special case because of his affinity to Gale, so he had received special permission from the principal to take a magical module whenever his schedules may fit.

Usually, he would be offered either the history or arts modules which Donghyuck had thoroughly enjoyed. It was an excellent change up from his boring human modules of chemistry. So far he had taken Magic History — taken with Yangyang, Jeno and Jaemin which was mostly him paying attention in class while the trio napped their way through the class, only managing to pass thanks to Donghyuck’s notes — and also the Elven language which was an eye-opener for him. To everyone’s surprise, he actually managed to rank eighth in class for that module as well as fourth place for the history module (Yangyang never let him live down the fact that he, a human, obtained such a high ranking in a magic module).

Right now, Donghyuck was in his calculus class and fighting against his eyelids to stop shutting down on him. He got lucky today and managed to score a seat at the back of the class, away from the old Professor’s sight. Donghyuck pondered over his choices — take a nap now so he can be awake for Fairian class or skip this class and find another sleeping spot. Needless to say, Donghyuck just took his hoodie out to construct a makeshift pillow and hunched upon it to take a short nap. It doesn’t really bother him anyway since Kun had taught him the whole syllabus whenever he was over for their study sessions, so it was a _revision_ whenever he is in this class. His professor hates his guts and couldn’t fathom how can he sleep through every lesson and yet passed his exams in the top 95 percentile.

Oh, and Donghyuck thought that the university cafeteria was a wonderful place to be.

Lunch break was the only period where the magical folks were going to be in the same space with the humans. Not that the magical folks liked it actually — the human students would often gawk at them while they eat because they had never seen such a huge gathering of magical folks. Most of the magical folks resigned to their annoyance and just avoided the cafeteria to avoid the stares thrown at them. The only people who didn’t mind the stares and talks around them were Donghyuck's friends who were already the talk of the town, as their friend group has the most diverse species in it. Well, they were an attention-seeking bunch on their own anyway.

Their chaotic energy had become a main event every lunch time as they would often group together in a huge group and take up the largest circle table in the cafeteria. The shock factor came in the form of Donghyuck — back in their freshmen days and when their social circle was way smaller with just Jeno, Jaemin, Yangyang and Donghyuck — who just casually took his food tray and squeezed himself between Yangyang and Jaemin at the table.

There was a loud collective gasp in the cafeteria and their table just held their laughter as they continued with the conversation. Now, the excitement was gone and only the new freshmen would peek curiously at their table once in a while. No one barely even blinked when he slid into their table, swinging his back to the space as Yangyang gave him a one-sided hug and ruffled his hair.

Today was one of the days where a new batch of freshmen arrived with the Fall intake and Sungchan was perplexed at how blatant their staring was. Shotaro had shrunk in his seat and Donghyuck felt bad for them. The older members of the clique may have gotten used to the staring but he cannot fathom how awkward it would be for the two new additions even if it had been a month or so.

He took the sunflower pattern lunchbox from Jaemin gratefully and peeked into the lunchbox Kun had prepared for him excitedly. He was delighted to see his favourite food sitting snugly in the box. He picked up his chopsticks and dug in happily as the group chattered in various languages. He listened to their conversation about how Sungchan mistook his own strength and accidentally sent another wolf flying across the field when they mock-wrestled in physical classes today.

A thought struck Donghyuck when he realised who was missing from the table. He nudged Yangyang and asked him softly, "Renjun doesn't go here?"

Yangyang looked up from his lunchbox and assessed the table quietly nodding. “Kun-ge says he doesn’t need to go to school because he has been homeschooled back in his clan. And he was supposed to help Kun with some potions and ailment making today anyway.”

Donghyuck nodded thoughtfully, smacking a sneaky chopstick from Jaemin trying to steal his tamagoyaki. “Rude, don’t steal from me.”

Jaemin pouted and was about to go full-blown cute on him when Jeno just swooped in and diffused the impending pain. He dropped his own tamagoyaki into Jaemin’s almost empty bento box, smiling at him fondly. Jaemin blushed red and mumbled about “Just teasing Hyuckie, you didn’t have to." Yangyang raised an unimpressed eyebrow at them and Sungchan quietly explained to Shotaro what happened, making the soft-spoken five-tailed fox giggle quietly. Chenle whined beside Jisung about being bored and wanting to skip school, to which Jaemin snapped his head to stare him down.

“You, Zhong Chenle, aren’t even supposed to be here! Wasn’t Kun-ge supposed to homeschool you?”

Chenle shrugged and Jisung snickered as he raised an unidentified pouch with a little talisman in it. Jaemin raised his eyebrow at them and Chenle gave a loud protest that Kun approved this method, hoping he could lay off the energy a little. Jeno chuckled at the clear indignant tone in his voice and patted Jaemin on the knee comfortingly.

“We should trust Kun-ge, no?”

Jaemin sulked in his seat but cheered up visibly when Chenle floated over and cuddled him. They chuckled at how easy it is to coax a sulking Jaemin and soon the group picked up the chatter as they finished the packed lunch Kun made for them. Their lunch period was broken up with Yangyang hopping out of his seat with a loud “I’m scared of that Prof, I’m not risking being late to his class!” and darted off to his class.

Chenle and Jisung headed off to their own classes, and Jaemin called after them that they were going back together. The rest of them headed to their own classes that were scattered across different venues in the campus. Donghyuck made his way to his chemistry class, sauntering in just as the Professor made his way in. As he eased himself into a seat, Donghyuck allowed his mind to wander off, dreaming of a certain Fairy and wondering what he was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who wants random info about this fic: 89% of the original idea is in this chapter. For those wondering, it was the pre-party situation and the party. But more brief, touch-and-go instances. When I wrote this, Sungchan and Shotaro wasn't even announced yet :) hehe but while I was revising the plot, I added them in ^^
> 
> Drop me a comment if you liked it however short (or long) it may be, give me a kudos if you enjoyed it <33 I welcome anything as long as you're being nice :)


	2. All Memories feel like Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don’t even ask,” Renjun mumbled.
> 
> “Trust your guts, Fairy… your kind always had that affinity with gut feelings being right,” Kun advised, taking another long drink of tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya :) no ridiculously long author notes this time!  
>  Here comes Chapter 2 where things picked up a little, a really protective Kun appears here and it shows (really obvious) hints to the second pair that will be popping up in this fic (the grand reveal is in the next chapter!). 
> 
> **Warning:** This chapter is set to Mature for the slight violence from Renjun that starts after the "Renjun knew some of them were wary of him ever since the Chenle incident" sentence :) there is a line break before it so tread carefully. There isn't blood or anything just Renjun breaking some exorcist's legs because he was hurting Chenle. 
> 
> Legend:  
>  (Donghyuck’s Little Wind Friend)  
>  **_Renjun’s telepathic abilities_**  
> 
> 
> **_Donghyuck's telepathic abilities_ **

As fragile, pink and white petals blossomed on the trees, their friendship also blossomed into a comforting presence — a shared knowledge that no matter what happens, they will be there in a heartbeat. It had been almost half a year since Renjun came to the little town, and Donghyuck had definitely grown closer to him. Renjun had a hunch that Donghyuck was his mission — the lost Crown Prince of the Sun Fairies and the sole reason for him to be here.

But there was something else that gnawed at the corner of his heart. Something bittersweet, something warm and fuzzy, something that felt like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter night. Renjun was confused and consulted Victoria about it but all she replied was “Oh darling, that’s for you to find out.” Renjun left her home feeling more confused than he was before the visit.

Something in his mind whispered that even if Donghyuck wasn’t the Crown Prince, he would be someone that had a great bond with Renjun. There was an unmistakable pull towards the human — or not so human. Renjun had faith in his hunch and his instincts had always been right — and Renjun was scared he might drown in that unspoken feeling he was experiencing. The interstellar pull Renjun felt towards Donghyuck was terrifying and he knew, he _simply knew,_ that if the situation arose, Renjun would lay down even his life to ensure the safety of the Sun Fairy.

Something gnawed within him inherently, and Renjun _knew_ that Donghyuck would do the very same for him. And yet here he was, worrying because he didn't know if Donghyuck was worth the jump into the unknown.

Donghyuck was making his way to the teahouse when he felt a surge of sadness within himself. He paused in his steps and whined softly under his breath, rubbing his chest to ease the pain he felt. Recently, the occasional surge of understanding and connection between him and Renjun had increased, but Donghyuck wasn't complaining. He loved it, in fact. He knew when the Fairy was feeling upset, anxious and even angry, and Donghyuck thoroughly enjoyed this little peek at the Fairy’s life. He was humming on his way to the teahouse owned by Kun, feeling rather excited to see Renjun as each step he took brought him closer to the Fairy. He was about to ask Gale a question when he realised the silence around him. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking for a sign that his wind friend was still around him.

He couldn’t find Gale.

That unsettled him greatly as Donghyuck picked up speed and dashed to the teahouse — _a place that is safe_.

Renjun, as if sensing his distress, was waiting for him at the teahouse. Donghyuck crashed into him, and he felt Renjun’s arms coming around him to curb their fall. Donghyuck could _feel_ the way Renjun’s magic hummed around him and he pulled away in shock. Renjun looked at him cautiously, reaching a hand up to sweep his fringe off his face and placed his palm on the forehead. Donghyuck picked out caution, comfort and worry in Renjun’s magic and his heart beat a little faster.

“Are you okay?” Renjun whispered, leaning close to him, as his magic whipped out from him, cocooning Donghyuck into a protective sphere.

Donghyuck nodded, looking around cautiously as he dropped his voice. “I can’t find Gale.”

(I literally just left for a minute or two to get some gossip, and you’re panicking already.)

“Gale,” Donghyuck gasped and Renjun giggled at his relief.

(Hello to you too, oh God, you clingy little baby.)

Renjun laughed out loud at the cooing from Gale and he tugged Donghyuck into the teahouse quickly. It was a little routine that they had built up over the afternoons Donghyuck spent in the teahouse before his shifts started in Taeil’s bookstore. Today, after a horrible day at school — he _failed_ that statistic test and also the bun he was looking forward to in the cafeteria was sold out when he got out of class, and the dreaded upcoming spring dance, Donghyuck welcomed the calmness of the teahouse.

Kun’s little shop was tucked away in an alley, only showing itself to those who truly needed help or those in grave danger. But Kun was a soft-hearted man, his spell was casted such that any elderly or children would be able to seek out his store easily. The elderlies who visited the shop enjoyed their time spent talking to Kun and loved him enough that they would often drop by with home baked goods or homemade soup for him and his little family. Donghyuck loved spending his afternoons there, sipping tea and watching the people come and go. There was always a level of zen and homely ambience that made Donghyuck relax within its spaces.

His usual routine in Kun’s teahouse had morphed into something else entirely after a certain Fairy’s arrival. Donghyuck realised that Renjun was an excellent and interesting subject to watch during his stay in the tea house. There were little quirks and habits that the Fairy had — scrunching his nose in disdain at a poor etiquette or the clenching of his hands behind his back when an unreasonable customer yelled at him, the little smiles he gave the children as he conjured a tiny flame to run around his palm, entertaining them. Donghyuck absorbed all the little interesting things he had observed into his head, filing them away for usage in the future.

When he first started out, Renjun would always be jittery as he greeted the customers. He would carefully seek out to know if they were magical or common. There was clear improvement from his first few weeks of being around, jumping whenever a human got too close, flinching whenever an elderly person walked in. Now he would squat down and engage in small talk (mainly noises) to babies in their prams, or gently guide the elderly customers to their seats.

Kun had begun letting Renjun run the shop when he had proven his witchcraft to be worthy. Donghyuck was the first in the friend group to congratulate him. He also decided then and there, to cut his trip to the beach hut short, spending only two weeks under the sun, and the remaining weeks of his summer break holed up in Kun’s teahouse to accompany Renjun. He found out that Renjun draws during his free time and had once spent the whole afternoon watching the Fairy paint at the corner of the teahouse. They worked up a routine when the summer holidays were over — Renjun waited for Donghyuck at the teahouse, Donghyuck sprinted to the teahouse when his classes ended.

Their routine didn’t change even with the seasons, even when they welcomed the first sign of Spring, with the trees turning green with the tiny pink buds sprouting on them, Renjun would continue to stand outside, by the entrance of the teahouse, waiting for Donghyuck to come running to him.

——————————————

Donghyuck stumbled behind Renjun as he skipped across the rocks that cut across the river in the forest. Renjun had asked him a couple of days ago if he wanted to join him in picking herbs for the potions that Kun needed to make. Donghyuck had jumped at the chance of spending more time with Renjun and was visibly pleased that Renjun had the same sentiments. It wasn’t a secret among his friends that he was very smitten by the fairy’s charms and had always found excuses to be with him. Right now, his wish had come true. He was spending the entire afternoon with Renjun as he did his chores.

Donghyuck followed his footsteps deftly, hopping after him and nearly collided into Renjun who had halted at the edge of the Dark Forest. He turned and looked at Donghyuck sharply before he took off the jade pendant he wore and wore it over Donghyuck’s head. His fingers remained on his collar a moment longer than usual and Renjun had an unreadable glint in his eyes. Donghyuck reached a hand up and brushed a lock of hair away from his cheeks, carefully tucking it behind Renjun’s ears. The Fairy blushed red and turned away from Donghyuck’s face before he grabbed his hands and tapped his wrist, muttering a spell under his breath.

“There, it should protect you from the beasts that reside in the forest.”

Donghyuck looked at him and swallowed the “would you tie me to you forever?” that was crawling up his throat and nodded.

The past few months had been torturous as Donghyuck upped his game by a few notches. He became incessantly touchy and clingy to Renjun, who had just allowed him to do whatever he wanted, as well as several attempts at flirting with Renjun. The fairy had reciprocated his advances with his own, more daring caresses on his arms and face, and the _look_ he sent in Donghyuck’s way sometimes was brimming and fiery with unspoken passion that made Donghyuck weak in his knees. Donghyuck had found that Renjun fit so nicely in his arms that he had gotten to hugging him whenever he found a chance to. There was a strong pounding pride that blossomed in him whenever he held Renjun in his arms and felt him melting into his embrace.

He was carefully following Renjun as the fairy taught him of the mushrooms and herbs that were scattered across the forest. They ventured further into the forest and Renjun had a misstep, skidding across the slippery forest grounds and Donghyuck reached out to grab him. Renjun tumbled towards him and they crashed into a tree, scaring a wood nymph out of his slumber. Donghyuck apologised and the old nymph just laughed at them waving them off as he sunk back into slumber. It was only then did Donghyuck realise how close Renjun was to him and his breath hitched.

Donghyuck could probably count the number of eyelashes that fanned across Renjun’s cheeks at their proximity. He could feel the heat radiating from where his hands were on Renjun’s slim but toned waist. He could breathe in a faint scent of wildflowers from the Fairy as he leaned in and took a tentative whiff at Renjun’s neck. Renjun had his hands curled around the front of his shirt as he shifted to bare his neck for Donghyuck to sniff him better.

None of them made a move to shift away as they basked in each other’s warmth and closeness. Pulling Renjun closer to him, Donghyuck rearranged himself against the tree as the fairy stepped between his legs. Renjun looked up and met his eyes, his lips tugged upwards into a soft, gentle smile. His right hand laid just above Donghyuck’s heart as his left hand slid down Donghyuck’s chest to rest at his hip. Donghyuck froze at the touch but he didn’t move away and just allowed Renjun to keep his hands there. His hands on the Fairy’s hip rearranged themselves to snake around waist strongly.

Time seemed to stop when Renjun leaned in and… rested his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder, body flushed tightly against Donghyuck.

Two hearts thundered in their rib cages and Donghyuck sighed into the embrace. Renjun relaxed a little when he realised that he didn’t overstep any boundaries and slowly stroked his finger down to rest near his belt. Donghyuck’s breath hitched and Renjun giggled softly, breath ghosting on Donghyuck’s neck. It felt like the summer breeze, fleeting yet so good that it coaxed people to _want_ more of it.

He tugged on the sleeve of Donghyuck’s shirt as he intertwined their fingers together and gave his hand a light squeeze. Renjun’s nose nuzzled against the column of his neck and Donghyuck swore he could feel a light, fleeting touch of his lips before Renjun pulled away and tugged Donghyuck away from the tree by hand. “Come on, we haven't gotten all day, there are still a few herbs I need to collect.”

Donghyuck allowed himself to be pulled forward by the fairy as they disappeared further into the dense forest. Renjun’s hand was warm in his and Donghyuck hoped that one day he could hold his hand and walk into the future together, side by side. Unbeknownst to them, as both their hearts thumped to the same beat, something locked away stirred within Donghyuck.

——————————————

It was a cold morning that day. Donghyuck threw on a shirt, a sweater, a pair of jeans and his leather jacket before he left for school. When classes were over, he declined Shotaro and Yangyang’s invite to hang out as he hurried down the cold, windy street to Kun’s Teahouse. The flower buds were slowly opening up, some patches of pink and purple across the trees. He slowed down as he neared the teahouse.

There was a shift in their dynamics ever since the trip to the forest and well, Donghyuck loved it insanely.

He spotted Renjun standing by the door, looking at him endearingly as he pushed himself off the wall of the shopfront. Donghyuck blinked and stared at him in awe, eyes raking his entire presence. Renjun was in a really comfortable-looking oversized hoodie in beige and a pair of artfully ripped jeans that clung on to his legs at the right areas. Donghyuck took a sneaky look at his own fashion coordination today and laughed when he realised they matched a little. Renjun noticed their matching outfit and returned a bright smile as he tugged him into a hug.

They were still dancing around each other, much to everyone’s annoyance, and neither of them are willing to cross the line first.

“Hello, Donghyuck.” Renjun chimed, welcoming him into the warmth of the cosy teahouse.

Donghyuck stepped into the warmth of the teahouse and Kun called out a greeting in the kitchens. He took a seat at his favourite table and watched as Renjun busied himself with the logistics of the shop. He paced up and down the shop, ducking into the backroom to speak to Kun and then out again. Donghyuck probably watched him for over an hour when their first non-Donghyuck customer walked in. Renjun froze and turned to face the elderly woman, eyes warm as he led her to a seat. They spoke softly and Renjun nodded, promising to be back as he dipped to the backroom again. He returned with Kun in tow and Kun sat by the elderly woman, voices low as Renjun ran about to gather the things he needed.

It took Kun a while before they could send the elderly lady off on her merry way. Kun exchanged low words with Renjun who nodded before the older man returned to the backroom, the door falling shut. Renjun took his time to select a pretty tea set and a box of tea, walking over to Donghyuck with the chosen items. He walked off to get a pot of water and a burner, returning to fold himself into the seat opposite Donghyuck. He sat the pot on the burner and lit it, humming under his breath as they waited for it to come to a boil. Donghyuck shifted his gaze off the burner to Renjun, the burning question he had for many months fell from the tips of his lips.

“So… you don’t go to school here?” Donghyuck asked softly.

He had been dying to ask this but none of his friends revealed much about why Renjun wasn’t in school with the rest of them. Renjun was obviously caught off guard by the question as he folded his hand over the table-top and regarded him seriously. Renjun bit his lower lip and shook his head, eyes growing thoughtful as he pondered over an answer for the human.

“Never felt the need to have a formal education since… the cou– my family had always… homeschooled me. I learnt what I needed to learn anyway.”

Donghyuck nodded at the reply; he wasn’t surprised at the answer. There was a way in which Renjun carried himself that reeked of poshness and class, _almost royal-like_. He wouldn't be surprised if he was from a well-off family who could afford to homeschool their kids. Renjun hummed lightly as the kettle whistled and Gale blew out the fire before Renjun could. The Fairy laughed quietly, thanking the wind softly as Gale chuckled into Donghyuck’s ears. She proceeded to whip around the kettle, cooling down the water to the temperature for green tea which made Renjun raise an impressed eyebrow.

“Now I really want a wind spirit as a friend, too bad that my affinity is with fire.”

Gale chuckled again, whispering to Renjun as the Fairy threw his head back, laughing. Renjun turned to Donghyuck and beamed, hands reaching out to start brewing the tea. His fingers were nimble as he made the tea carefully and Donghyuck must have zoned out because when he returned, there was a cup of steaming hot tea sitting in front of him. Renjun was sipping his own as he gathered the fire to his palm, extinguishing it. He hummed under his breath and Kun poked his head out.

“You made tea?”

Renjun nodded and Kun washed his hands and dropped himself heavily beside Renjun, who offered him a cup. Kun hummed under breath and ruffled Renjun’s hair softly. Renjun finished his cup of tea and turned to Donghyuck who was still unashamedly staring at the Fairy. Gale nudged him a little and Donghyuck dropped his gaze and Renjun leaned in to whisper something to Kun. Kun nodded and pointed him to one room which made Renjun smile gratefully at him. He got up from his seat, and wordlessly lifted the tray and kettle without his hands and disappeared behind the curtains. Kun wagged a finger at Donghyuck, chuckling when Donghyuck blushed at the implications.

Donghyuck squealed when he caught the time on the clock hanging behind Kun — _oh shit_ , he was already twenty minutes late to his job. Kun looked at him amusedly as he yelped and hit his knee on the table in his rush. He gulped down the tea quickly, feeling it burn his throat as he yelled goodbye to Kun and grabbed his bag before sprinting out of the teahouse. Kun laughed as he watched Renjun peek out curiously from behind the curtain before ducking back again when he found Kun looking at him.

“Don’t even ask,” Renjun mumbled.

“Trust your guts, Fairy… your kind always had that affinity with gut feelings being right,” Kun advised, taking another long drink of tea.

“I know, but he seems so… Human… but the potion I slipped into the tonkatsu sauce you packed into his bento last week wouldn’t have worked if… if he didn't have magical blood in him.”

Kun opened an eye and beckoned Renjun to come over, his hand waving to magically lock the front door and switch the sign to “CLOSED.” Kun looked at him curiously, eyes keen and sharp, as he leaned in to stare right into Renjun’s eyes. Renjun shrunk under his stare, seeing the resemblance between Zhoumi and Kun in their sharp stares. Feeling pleased with what he saw in them, Kun leaned back in his seat and smirked.

“So, Victoria probably told you about her husband, my mentor Zhoumi, right? I am supposed to be guiding you in this mission, but there is only so much I can do, so much I can consult with Taeyong, so please do talk to me about things. No matter how mundane or boring, ridiculous even, I promise I’ll be here for you. Just talk to me, don’t bottle up your emotions and feelings,” Kun smiled, hands grasping Renjun’s own.

Renjun nodded. “I know, Kun-ge. I’m just… conflicted. Donghyuck, he feels and _smells_ so human, I don’t want to get my hopes high and if he turns out to be just a human, you know…”

Kun chuckled, shaking his head, smiling at a memory. He beckoned Renjun to come closer as he drank his tea again, wetting his lips as he launched into a story. Renjun perched on the table, leaning closer to the powerful witch and listened carefully. Kun’s hands found their way to Renjun’s hair as they weaved between the pretty brown locks, flowers magically appearing in the loose strands. Kun started speaking halfway through weaving flowers into Renjun’s hair.

“Oh, Donghyuck couldn’t just be a human. I had my suspicion early on when I first came to this town, before he was born. I have met his father countless times before he disappeared and he is very, very powerful, a very powerful Fairy. He was good at cleaning up traces, his wife was a worrywart, but you know how I just attract magical beings to me... Well, his father was definitely a child of the Sun. Their house used to be so full of sunlight, so cheery, so warm. Ten hated that place, only loving it when he shifted into a cat, and avoided it like his life depended on it.”

Renjun laughed at the thought, eyes curious about the human boy. He shifted away from Kun, returning to the seat he occupied previously, leaning across the table to listen to the continuation of the story.

“Donghyuck used to glow in the sun, you know… quite similar to how you glow in the moon. Now that I’m thinking about it, both of you are quite similar, like you’re two sides to a coin.”

Renjun nodded at that description. He knew of that feeling, the way he felt his soul gravitating towards the boy with sunkissed skin. He always felt an immense pull towards the boy, the way his soul sang in the presence of him, the way his magic hummed whenever he was near. He had learnt about imprinting but Renjun felt himself growing stronger whenever the other boy was around, like he was the amplifier of his powers. Renjun knew for sure that his magic felt different than when he stood under the moonlight.

 _Soulmates_.

Renjun snapped his head up in fright when he heard that thought.

He looked at Kun with uncertainty. Soulmates. Could they really be soulmates? Renjun played with his fingers, twiddling them as he tried to form words of his own. Kun smiled at him, waiting expectantly, eyes kind as he waited for Renjun to come to terms on his own. He poured both of them a cup of freshly brewed tea, it’s pu’er this time, as he hummed a slow tune under his breath, fingers dancing across the tabletop. Renjun swallowed thickly, hands curled around teacup cautiously.

“We are soulmates.”

Kun gave him a victorious smile and nodded to affirm his thought. Renjun felt a sweet, sticky feeling engulf him from within, spreading across him like honey. Renjun clutched onto his heart, fingers sprawled across his chest, as his magic hummed around him. He felt his control over his own magic multiply and strengthen. He could almost sense the other boy’s presence in the teahouse, and he looked back at Kun who was smiling at him.

_Oh._

Kun grinned at him, tapping his finger to his chin. He pondered over something on his mind before he looked at Renjun with a strange look. A smile broke across his features and Renjun felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Say, care to run to Ten for some help?”

——————————————

It had been six months since the peculiar request from Kun and also, the second week of Renjun’s absolute Hell level 23 difficulty training with the shapeshifter. Renjun didn’t even want to ask, to question even, why Ten would have the whole training equipment of Hell in the backyard of his house. Renjun had an inkling why he had them but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be burdened by the information. Jeno gave him a sympathetic pat on the back one night and Kun spent twenty minutes on the phone yelling at Ten about safety and Renjun’s bodily state.

“GOD, YOU FUCKING STUPID SHAPESHIFTER.” Kun snarled into the phone, leaving a trail of burn marks on the wooden flooring.

Renjun was just glad that Donghyuck was out of town for the autumn choral competition, and he didn’t have to witness the scars and bruises on his body. Renjun groaned and Jaemin gently dabbed a cotton ball on his bruise, wincing at the shade it was darkening to. Jeno pouted at Jaemin, offering to use his hellfire to help speed up the healing and he was promptly chased out of the living room by the angel.

Renjun whimpered into the cushion and Jaemin mumbled an apology before he removed the cotton ball from his skin. Renjun got up from where he was sprawled on the couch and pouted. He moved his sore muscles and looked at the closed doors of the kitchen, wondering if Ten would be upset at how Kun was yelling all kinds of profanities at him. Jaemin tugged on his sleeves and pointed to the backyard.

“It’s not a full moon yet, but it has waxed about 73%. You might want to soak yourself under the moonlight. It would help with the injuries and pain.”

Renjun peeked out of the window and let out a deep sigh in contentment; his magic bristled under his fingertips. He thanked Jaemin softly and told him to lay off being harsh on Jeno — “He is just trying to help, you know my affinity is with the fire,” Renjun sighed — which made Jaemin visibly blush as he shooed Renjun out into the backyard. Renjun felt better the moment the moonlight hit his skin, his bare feet pressing against the cool blades of the grass.

Ten had always given off the nonchalant vibe, carefree and unbounded, just like a cat. However, his training sessions with the shapeshifter had proven otherwise. He paced Renjun thoroughly, making sure to break him beyond his limits, throwing all caution to the wind. He was fast on his feet, eyes keen and calculative, and was always ready to return all attacks tenfold the power. The five months Renjun spent with him had already given his powers a significant boost.

He was crafty like a fox. He knew how to make use of his small build to take a larger enemy down.

Renjun also learnt, at the end of summer, that he was exceptionally good at breaking down mental barriers. Funny how this was the exact catalyst that bumped Renjun to take up an intensive course with Ten.

Renjun had always been proud of his mental walls, loved how it was hard to even put a dent on the walls he put up. But Ten effortlessly took half a minute staring at him and Renjun felt the walls crumble to his feet and Ten poked him sharply in the mind. He was not smug but he had a careful smile on his face as he reached a clawed hand up to ruffle Renjun’s hair gently.

“I haven’t had a good mental fight for a while, this is fun… so thank you, I guess? Are you okay though, you looked really shaken up,” Ten fumbled with his items, conjuring them from space slits, as he looked worriedly at the silent Fairy before him.

“Do you need some chocolate, a break or a towel? Talk to me Renjun or Kun would really hate me now.”

Renjun blinked, tilting forward a little as he broke his spaced-out moment. He blinked at Ten and shook his head slowly. He bit on his lips and struggled to form actual words, lower lip jutting out into a pout and he glared at a blade of grass unhappily. Ten watched him cautiously, very confused as to what was the Fairy up to. Renjun snapped his head back up and took a deep breath, reciting at top speed.

“Pleasejustteachmehowtobreakdownmentalwallslikethisthatwassocool, Ten.”

Ten blinked and cocked his head to the side. “Slowly, repeat yourself, heathen.”

Renjun pouted and plucked at the grass, mumbling softly but slower. “Please just teach me how to break down mental walls like this, that was so cool, Ten.”

Ten’s smile stretched across his face, his entire feature lighting up, as he leaned forward to flick Renjun on the forehead. “That’s Ten-hyung or Ten-ge for you, young one.”

Renjun stuck his tongue out in defiance as Ten just chortled and fell over with a loud squeal of laughter, shaking with mirth as he rolled around the grass. He looked at Renjun from where he was laying around and grinned. Renjun returned the grin and they reached a mutual agreement.

Except Renjun regretted his choice.

He was back at Ten’s house, a couple houses after Kun’s house, on a bright and lovely end-Summer afternoon — only to be thrashed on the floor by a trick of physics and gravity. Ten offered to teach him sparring too after realising, two and a half weeks into his lessons, that Renjun was fast on his feet and nimble with his movements. Renjun whined against a pillow on the pile of pillows Ten had laid out and pouted at Ten who just shook his head at the Fairy.

“Get up, time to return to your original training plan which is to knock some sense into Donghyuck and get his powers to awaken from their slumber.”

Renjun gave another loud whine at the words and purposefully sounded pitiful as he blinked cutely at Ten. Ten raised his hand and pretended to smack his head as he hopped away to get ready. The Summer-transitioning-to-Autumn kind of cold air made Renjun shiver as he sat up in the pile of pillows, body still nestled comfortably in them, and glowered at Ten. The shapeshifter was standing a little distance away, a smug smirk on his face as he beckoned haughtily with two fingers.

“Come on, lover boy… your soulmate can’t wait forever.”

A frustrated growl made its way up Renjun’s throat as he lunged towards the older man. He took up position in front of Ten and braced himself for the impact. It would always hurt his mind, a budding migraine, every time Ten tore his mental walls down. Renjun grimaced as he felt the telltale signs of Ten’s sharp blade slashing his way through his mind, as he tried to repair and build his walls back up. There was another way that Ten had proposed, completed with a full set of suggestive eyebrows and a smirk, but Renjun was adamant to not even resort to that.

A kiss. Hell no, Renjun wasn’t going to just go up to Donghyuck and _kiss him_.

Don’t get Renjun wrong though, he was pretty open to kissing Donghyuck — he really _wanted_ to kiss his full lips and perhaps kiss those pretty moles scattered across his skin as well — but not like this. Renjun had envisioned a whole confession scene, how he would tell the boy he liked him, how he would gently press his lips against him, but not like this. Renjun wasn’t even sure if the other boy liked him back anyway — although his friend group would like to disagree (all submissions from said friend group were censored partially to protect their identities from the wrath of Huang Renjun).

_“I promise you, Donghyuck looks at you like you are the fucking sun, just kiss and confess, oh my god,” from Na J*emin, and Lee J*no nodded enthusiastically beside him._

_“Coward!” Zhong Ch*nle had cried out._

_“Renjun-hyung, my nose picks up scents that screams adoration and affection from him,” Jung Su*gchan had pouted at Renjun._

_“Renjun-hyung? He likes you,” Osaki Sh*taro had mumbled meekly beside the werewolf pup on the couch in Kun’s coven._

Renjun yelped and crashed back into the pillow pile behind him, wincing at the throbbing pain in his mind. He sat up and rubbed his temples painfully, Ten was hovering closely to ensure he was fine. Damn it, he lost concentration the moment he _thought_ about kissing the beautiful sun-kissed boy. That was absolutely horrible in a way because he saw the Cheshire grin on Ten and Renjun knew that he _saw_ his little infuriating thoughts about kissing the boy in question. Renjun really wanted to either stab himself with that twig on the grass or stab Ten for laughing at his misery, or do both honestly.

“I told you, Renjunnie! If you really want to awaken his powers with one try, you just got to ki–” Ten giggled, sidestepping to avoid Renjun’s attempts of attacking him.

“Hyung! _Please_!” Renjun whined and got back up.

Renjun groaned and returned to the burnt line Ten had drawn with fire, shooting Ten a defiant look and took his place again. “Get your head in the game, Renjun,” he mumbled under his breath and worked on regulating his breathing, just like what Kun had taught him one night. Renjun calmed his messy thoughts and felt his heart rate slow down to a calmer pace before he looked up to face Ten. He walked back to the burnt line and nodded at Ten, gritting his teeth and allowed Ten to tear his way into his mind. Renjun winced, falling back into the pile of pillows again.

“Again!” Ten called, and Renjun bit on his lips, getting up to receive the blow.

Halfway through the training, Yangyang dropped by and watched as he curled up in one of the few bean bags. He chuckled at the frustrated growl from Renjun when he hit his back again. Ten noticed his presence immediately, way before Renjun could, and snapped his head to him as he barked an order at him to move his ass and get on with his own training. Yangyang wailed about losing Ten’s favour and Ten threw a rock at him which he moulded out of thin air.

He yelped and pouted before rolling over with a burst of flames and a beautiful reddish gold phoenix emerged from them. Even though he knew that Yangyang was a phoenix, Renjun had never quite wrapped his mind around the idea that Yangyang and all his chaotic energy could be a serene, majestic phoenix. He flew over and landed on Renjun’s knee, looking at him with a pair of familiar beady eyes before he snapped his beak at Ten. He bumped his head on Renjun chin before giving Ten a screech of warning and took off into the sky.

“Will he be okay?” Renjun asked as he approached the shapeshifter and Ten rolled his eyes.

“He is just heading towards Kun’s house. His training for this month is with Kun. Yangyang hates it though, because Kun is very strict with him.” Ten laughed quietly as they made their way to the porch.

Renjun raised his eyebrows as he helped himself to a cup of water from the pitcher and stared at the shapeshifter oddly. “Wouldn’t you be a better choice since you probably shifted into a phoenix?”

Ten chuckled, flicking him on the forehead. “Oh honey, how much do you know about Kunnie bear?”

Renjun choked on his water at the pet name and turned to his mentor incredulously. “Kunnie _what_?”

Ten shrugged and there was a playful glint in his eyes. He snapped his fingers and lifted Renjun off the porch and made their way back to the burnt line. Renjun grasped the air for a minute before Ten let him down, gently. Renjun’s eyes bulged from their sockets as he gasped at the realisation.

“Wind? You have two elements? What the hell, that’s so cool,” Renjun looked at him in awe.

Ten chuckled darkly and pushed him to the burnt line, crouching to get ready to hit him with what he had. “I trained myself to pick up fire… after an incident with Ku— nevermind about that, get ready because until you can block me for at least ten seconds, I’m not letting you go home.”

Renjun swallowed a nervous whimper and braced himself for yet another impact in his mind. Needless to say, that night when Ten brought his over-tired body back to Kun’s coven, Renjun couldn’t even register that he was home already. He heard a soft whisper and a hushed conversation between Ten and Kun. He then felt a pair of strong arms (it was Kun, his foggy mind supplied helpfully) drag him up to his room gently. He was eased into bed and he heard Kun mumble a soothing wash-up spell on him as he helped him into his pyjamas. Renjun was about to drift off to sleep when he felt Kun’s warm hand brushing his hair gently. He whined sleepily at the touch and leaned closer to the warmth the witch was radiating which caused Kun to laugh softly at him.

“Sleep little one, I’ll speak to you when morning comes,” and with that Renjun drifted off to a dreamless slumber.

———————

When morning came around, Renjun woke up to a face full of sunlight. Grumbling, he threw his covers off and sat sleepily at the edge of the bed, feeling the ache and soreness from yesterday settling in. It was the start of his intensive training regime — “Don’t slack off little one, time to take the game up a notch!” Ten cheered as he told Renjun the new plan — and Renjun winced at the groan he emitted when he got up from bed. He rolled his taut muscles a little, wincing at the pain as he made his way to the bathroom to freshen up for the day.

He halted midway to the bedroom when he heard Jeno and Jaemin scream a loud “Lee Donghyuck! You’re back!” from downstairs. He entered the bathroom, heart thundering in his ribcage, quickly took a shower and tried to look less dead from the training yesterday. Donghyuck didn’t need to know about his injuries and aches and more importantly, the reason behind them. He slipped out of the bathroom to catch Donghyuck’s voice muted from where he was and he hastened his dressing - slipping on a pristine white short-sleeve shirt and throwing on a pair of black jeans. He tousled his wet hair, allowing the fire on his hand to dry it quickly.

Taking a quick glance at the mirror, Renjun checked for visible bruises on his skin as he closed his eyes and regulated his heartbeat. He gave himself one more look in the mirror, tugging on the collar of his shirt as he grabbed a navy blue cardigan from the back of his chair. He shrugged it on and took another glance in the mirror before he skipped his way downstairs and stepped into the kitchens. Jeno yelped when he saw Renjun by the door. Jaemin scolded him lightly before returning to the stove and threw a few more strips of bacon into the sizzling pan. Renjun thanked him gratefully and Donghyuck gave him a curious look from behind his mug of hot chocolate.

Renjun gave him a small smile and eased himself into the seat opposite him. Donghyuck smiled back, still hiding behind the mug and Renjun just wanted to coo at him. He looked a lot like the animal, a pudú, and Renjun felt that his eyes had the whole galaxy in them — like how he had the little dipper or _little bear_ on his cheeks. Donghyuck placed his mug back on the countertop and Renjun finally realised that he had sweater paws. His brain short-circuited and the only thought that ran through his mind was, _“He is so devastatingly Cute with a capital C.”_

“Renjun! Kun said you’ll probably sleep till noon!” Jeno greeted as he munched on a piece of toast.

He had successfully snapped Renjun out of his Donghyuck-induced trance as he blinked confusedly about the comment. He was pretty sure the clock said it was past twelve when he woke up as he twisted his body to check the time. Jaemin walked over from to the stove to lovingly smack Jeno on the head with the wooden spoon. Jeno frowned and his lips turned downwards to a pout as Jaemin pursed his lips together into a thin line. He returned to the stove with a huff and flipped the bacon with care.

“You dumbass, it is already quarter to one.” Jaemin scolded lightly, turning to Renjun and Donghyuck.

Jeno winced at the scolding and pouted at the angel who just shook his head disappointedly at the comment he made, turning back to the stove.

“Eggs?” Jaemin asked over his shoulder.

Donghyuck nodded and Renjun replied with a sleepy “Scrambled, please.” which Jaemin gave a thumbs up to. Jeno was on his fourth piece of toast already, much to Donghyuck’s amusement as he stole one off the pile in front of Jeno. Donghyuck offered a piece to Renjun who shook his head. Behind them, Jaemin gently removed the bacon from the stove and cracked eggs into the pan. He rearranged the plates and made sure that Renjun received the biggest plate. Once all the eggs were cooked, Jaemin brought the plates over and Renjun whined about not being able to finish whatever that is on his plate.

“Eat, or I’ll personally shove it down your throat. You skipped dinner yesterday — don’t give me that look, Renjun — Ten told Kun who told me to make sure that you don't just nibble a quarter of bread for breakfast, I’m the resident bunny, not you, and also you don't look like a bunny. So leave the bunny and nibbling habits to me and Doyoung-hyung.” Jaemin warned, his voice went low as he pointed a threatening finger at Renjun.

Renjun pouted and resigned to his fate, taking the largest serving quietly. He dug into his brunch quietly and jumped a little when he watched Donghyuck sneak a piece of bread off his plate for himself. He smiled at him softly as he bit into the bread, making his cheeks puff out. Renjun mouthed a grateful “thank you” and Donghyuck broke into a bright smile, reaching over to steal a slice of bacon off his plate. Renjun lets him do that because he honestly couldn’t finish the massive plate Jaemin made for him. They worked up a routine — Donghyuck stealing food off his plate and Renjun letting him — and Renjun found himself getting lost in watching Donghyuck eat his food so expressively.

He caught himself staring at Donghyuck and quickly looked away to where his friends were sitting, just in time to see Jeno pouting at something Jaemin said and clinging onto him, nose nuzzling his bare neck. Sometimes Renjun wondered why he wasn't part of the Johnny pack when Jaemin just stole a light kiss on Jeno’s jaw laughing against his skin. Renjun chuckled fondly at them and helped himself to the coffee sitting in the French Press — a gift from Johnny. He got up to get milk for his coffee when a wave of pain shot through him and he would've crumbled if he didn’t grip the table in time.

Jeno whimpered lightly as Jaemin rested a comforting hand on his back, gently rubbing a pattern on his it. He muttered “the Blood Moon isn’t supposed to be here that soon though, it shouldn’t be affecting me yet” to Jaemin who just got more worried. Renjun bit his lip and snuck a look at Donghyuck, wondering if it was him who caused them to react this way, he was the only outlier here now. But Renjun highly doubted that since he was pretty sure that Donghyuck’s awakening had not reached a point where he could influence the Lord of Hell or himself.

Renjun’s hands shook as he willed himself to not panic at the mere mention of Blood Moons. His magic trembled in his veins, coursing excitedly to be in close proximity with Donghyuck. He swallowed an imaginary lump and regulated his breathing, walking to the fridge as steadily as he could. He could feel the worry emanating from Donghyuck as he darted his eyes between Jeno and Renjun. Renjun cleared his throat and mustered a smile at Donghyuck.

“How was your trip, did you manage to win?” Renjun asked, returning to the table with his milk and poured a generous amount into his coffee.

Donghyuck nodded excitedly, seemingly glad to have the distraction of his friends being in pain. Jeno chuckled lovingly and turned to rest his head on Jaemin’s shoulders. Donghyuck shoved his hands into his pants’ pocket and pulled out his phone and flipped through it for a photo. He slid the phone to show Renjun the photo and started explaining the whole competition to him. Renjun listened to him intently, savouring the way his voice seemed to help him with the pain as he felt it eb away. His instincts nudged him to try if he could always nudge at him telepathically and Renjun glanced at Donghyuck cautiously. He swallowed his nervousness down and very gently prodded Donghyuck’s mind.

If Donghyuck managed to reply, without the boy knowing, it meant his magic was slowly but surely surfacing in his subconscious.

_**That’s really cool, so you had to compete with people of your age?** _

**_No no, it’s an age range so I had to compete with people over my age.  
It’s fun though. People tend to wait a year or two before joining the competition again…_ **

**_Cool, but Doyoung-hyung was training you before the competition right, that should put you an edge over your competitors!_ **

**_It sure does, the look on their faces when Doyoung was announced as my coach.  
I have never been so proud of him before._ **

**_Don’t let Doyoung hear that!_ **

**_Nah, I have already… kinda told him…_ **

Renjun chuckled and caught the eyes of the devil and angel, raising his eyebrow at him. Donghyuck noticed his distraction and turned to face the duo as well. Jaemin blinked at them as his mouth opened and closed, trying to form words. Jeno himself was narrowing his eyes on them, more on Renjun than Donghyuck, and he turned to face Jaemin, communicating through their eyes. Jaemin nodded and rested his hand on Jeno’s thighs, stroking lightly to keep his emotions in check as he cleared his throat. Renjun raised an eyebrow at him and Jaemin kept his sight on Donghyuck carefully.

“Care to explain why the heck were you two conversing telepathically? More like when did Donghyuck even learn to do that?” Jaemin leaned forward, eyes sharp as he rested his chin on his palm.

Jeno looked at them carefully and Donghyuck frowned. He looked down at his eggs and blinked before lifting his head and tilting his head cutely at Renjun. Renjun just gave him a tiny smile, reaching his hand out to pat the back of his hand gently. Donghyuck looked at him even more confused as Jeno gave a low growl in warning. Renjun snapped his head over to Jeno and his hold on Donghyuck’s hand tightened. His eyes narrowed in response and returned a low growl at Jeno. Jaemin smacked Jeno on the head and turned to Renjun.

“Calm down both of you.” Jaemin said, holding a hand to Jeno’s chest.

Renjun reduced his protective stance and lightened his grip on Donghyuck. Donghyuck blinked confusedly and turned to Renjun, head tilting again.

_**Telepathy? I can’t do that right?** _

Renjun grimaced and shook his head slightly, turning to Donghyuck as his eyes softened at his confused face. He nodded a little, and gestured vaguely into the air, hearing the low chuckle from Gale. Renjun reached out for Donghyuck’s hand, struggling to form a coherent sentence without spilling his actual birth rights. Except, Renjun did not foresee the tense reaction that Donghyuck gave when he forcefully wrenched his hand away from Renjun and looked at him with a fiery defiance in his eyes. Renjun flinched at the hostile emotions that Donghyuck was radiating as Jaemin took the boy into his arms, mumbling coaxing sentences into his ears.

The air was thick with sadness. Frustration. Self-doubt. Self esteem.

And more importantly, Donghyuck felt like he was not worthy _because he was just a human_.

“Hyuckie has an issue with powers and inferiority. He hates being reminded that he is human, and well… it’s not your fault Renjun, you didn’t know,” Jeno explained calmly, his black eyes now reflecting an unspoken softness in them as they regarded Renjun.

Renjun recognised the shameful _pity_ in Jeno’s eyes which he did try to mask with other emotions, but it was there in his eyes, loud and clear. Renjun lowered his head, berating himself quietly about the lack of tact for the boy. He knew from countless displays of insecurity that Donghyuck hated being reminded that he was the only “normal” one in the group, and it was indeed too early for the trial session.

He could hear the low scolding he would get from Kun at home later and probably a light whack on the head from Ten when he caught wind of this. Yangyang would probably give him an unimpressed, disappointed look but would comfort him as much as he could. Renjun had forged a tight bond with Yangyang, strong enough that Kun and Ten both agreed to let them start training together to help each other with taming the flames that walked on their skin.

(Renjun, I need to speak to you. Outside preferably, Jeno and Jaemin will care for him, don’t worry.)

Renjun sighed quietly, staring at the whimsy form of the wind spirit. He stole another quick look at the boy hidden behind Jaemin’s light grey fluffy wings — a telltale sign of his slow process of abandoning the High Heavens — and Jeno gave his hand another gentle squeeze. His own dark grey wings fluttered out behind him, sleek and classy, as he joined the huge group hug, burying Donghyuck underneath their wings. Renjun sighed and turned to the wind spirit giving her a tight nod at her request. Renjun slipped off the chair and trailed behind her to the spacious garden behind Kun’s place.

As he followed the translucent wind spirit quietly, Renjun bit his lips and swallowed the urge to just shout and tell Donghyuck that he was more than just a human. He was his soulmate, his other half - his _sunlight_. He was someone that Renjun was sure if he was a plant, he couldn’t live without him. Renjun pushed down an impending whine that was tearing its way out of his throat, clawing at his insides, making him feel how raw the emotions he was feeling right now. He kept his head down and tried his best to keep his emotional turmoil in a tight little bubble. He wasn’t sure how far Donghyuck’s powers had manifested and he didn’t need to distress Donghyuck even further.

If Donghyuck looked up from the cuddle pile he was in and their eyes met, Donghyuck would have seen a flash of pain, conflict and turmoil in Renjun’s eyes before he left the dining room. He felt a little better when the harsh rays of the sunlight hit his face and he squinted into the brightness of the back gardens. He felt Gale giving him a gentle pat and sensed that she headed over to where Renjun stood. Renjun felt Abergale duck down and caress his back softly, her touch light and fleeting. Renjun drew comfort in knowing that she wasn’t angry at him, just confused and Renjun could sense a little _anticipation_ from her.

(I’m sorry, little one but you’re still so young, as young as Donghyuck here, of course… I had to make sure that Hyuckie wasn’t in close vicinity.)

Renjun shook his head as he looked down at his lap, his lips pulled down into a taut line and he pouted at the grass.

(Hey, don’t get sad on me… Look, as much as I think you need to explain yourself, I’m not the one you need to apologise to so I’m not going to say anything. However, I do have some burning questions to check with you.)

Renjun nodded numbly, sliding into the two seater swing chair under the big oak tree. Gale tousled his hair briefly before she perched on the top bar of the swing and pondered over what to ask first. The back garden was bathed in a warm orange glow of the setting sun, and Renjun felt his wings bristling behind him. He released them and hummed lightly as the tension from his body dissipated through his wings. He waited. Gale cleared her throat and Renjun squinted his eyes at her, facing the sun.

(What was that?)

Renjun winced at the tone she used, it was reproachful and uncertain. But Renjun could sense the telltale signs of hope, and curiosity. They were silent for a while and Renjun hummed quietly to ease the tension and silence. The gears in his head whirled as he thought over his response carefully. Gale would be an important person in helping him with this quest that had indeed gotten out of hand. If Renjun had to trust someone to guide him on this path, he was sure he could trust Gale with his whole heart and soul.

“I am his soulmate,” Renjun felt his body relaxing when he admitted this out loud.

“And his father, the future King of Sun Fairies, tasked me with the job to awaken his true nature. The spell he casted on Donghyuck back then when he left was too strong, and he couldn’t break the chains around Donghyuck. The High Priestess of the Sun Courts told him of an old magic — _the bond of two souls_ , the most genuine bond between two entities — and one half was pointed to me.”

Renjun looked up to face Gale, eyes shining as he smiled at the Wind Spirit.

“His powers are awakening soon. He would soon stand with his father again, in the courts of the Sun Fairies.”

(You are saying that you… Renjun, do you even know just how insanely strong that spell his father casted is? I personally gave him that spell, it was created by old magic, it nearly took his life when he—)

“Gale— no, I should call you the Cold Wind of the East, Abergale,” Renjun raised his eyebrow at her challengingly.

A stronger breeze picked up around Renjun,

(Renjun, please heed my advice on this. It is not wise for you to probe further with this, it will hurt Donghyuck as it would to you… it’s far too dangerous, darling. You’re too young, too reckless…)

“Abergale, tell me… what do you know of me and my birth rights?”

The wind spirit fell silent at his question and Renjun smiled gently. “I was born under the protection of the Blood Moon. So in a skewed sense of magic, I am unfortunately powerful enough to break that old spell, if Donghyuck’s father guessed correctly.”

(You think that Donghyuck and you are Soulmates?)

Renjun nodded earnestly, pointing to his heart as he explained the blank feeling he had felt the moment his birthday passed. He told her how elated he was when _tasked_ with this mission, the way his magic hummed and burst out within himself, the sense of longing that erupted when he learnt of Donghyuck’s name. He told her how his magic felt when he met Donghyuck at the party – the noticeable shift in strength and the way it grew whenever he spent time with the boy.

“I promise you, Abergale, I am his soulmate. I need him like he needs me once the powers manifest. Kun’s books of the old ages, they spoke of the mechanics of the bond, I have been reading, researching, and learning about this. Today, you have seen how his own underlying magic reaches out to me, you cannot deny the connection between us.”

(That is true, young one. But the Blood Moon will be happening, how do you want to survive that? If you are born under the influence of that, and with Donghyuck being so close by, both you and him _will_ be hurt.)

Renjun fell silent. “I know, I’ll have to work out something. I need to have him near me when the night comes, it will help to bring his powers to the surface, perhaps not so the secondary ones, but…”

Renjun looked up at the wind spirit, his cheeks flaring up into a pretty red blush. “I don’t think his mother likes me at all,” Renjun whispered.

(Oh sweet child, did you even tell her about your mission?)

Renjun shook his head, he hadn’t. In fact, he hadn’t even been in the same room as her without Donghyuck.

(Child, speak to her, she will definitely help you once she knows. She is just cautious of magical beings, it’s her nature and well, even Jeno and Jaemin had a tough time getting into her good books.)

Renjun nodded again, smiling up at the wind spirit tentatively. He played with his fingers and they lapsed into a friendly silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Renjun hummed a little before calling for Gale’s attention. There was a pressing issue on his mind, when the little bits and pieces came together and formed a bigger picture.

“So… his father left around this month? And he gets sad over it?” Renjun asked cautiously, worried if he might have overstepped a boundary of some sort.

(I expected no less from you, Soulmate.)

Renjun chuckled, his heart still aching as he feels the waves of emotions from Donghyuck. He let his magic run wild as he tried to sense if there was still distress coming from the boy. He felt nothing and Renjun chuckled sadly. He wasn’t surprised to know that Donghyuck’s magic was on the intuitive side. Sun Fairies were well known for their intuitive powers and Moon Fairies were better known for their tactics and wits. It’s amazing how strong and pronounced his magic has become, even before the actual manifestation started. Renjun felt his magic slide down his spine in a delighted, excited shiver, at how powerful Donghyuck’s magic will be once it comes unbound. He turned his attention back to the wind spirit who was looking at him amusedly before she continued.

(Donghyuck had always tried to not let his human-ness hurt his charms or the way he carried himself. He was fearless and snarky, sharp on his tongue but so charming and adorable, it makes it hard for anyone to actually hate him.)

Renjun hummed in response, he could understand that. He had been in town close to a year, next month would have marked his one-year anniversary here. Renjun watched the trees change to an orange coat quietly, thinking about how the year had gone past. He was definitely behind the assigned schedule but he had so much fun here with the new friends he made. A breeze picked up and he heard Abergale greet someone as they spoke in hushed tones, opting to tune out and just sort his messy thoughts out. He had always wondered why and how wind spirits were always on top of every damned gossip.

(I can hear the gears in your head turning, young one.)

“Gale? How come wind spirits are so full of gossip? I don’t mean it in a bad way, just… how?”

(Well, people are always speaking, and we wind spirits live in the air, in the sky, in the trees, everywhere actually. But you, young one… I had an inkling that you might be Hyuckie’s soulmate from the very first instance we met you at the party… I spoke to my sisters about this, and well, they hoped that one day they would be blessed enough to meet you too...)

“Abergale… I don’t understand… why would they want to meet me?”

(Because both of you and your blood lineage are very intriguing for the old ones, sweetcakes. Moon Fairy born under the protection of the Blood Moon… a Sun Fairy born under the darkness of a fully eclipsed sun… Aren’t you two quite a pair?)

“What?” Renjun jolted out of the swing and stood up, staring at Abergale incredulously, clarity flooding his mind. He heard the wind spirit chuckle fondly as a little breeze fluttered his hair briefly, a soothing touch to his head. He peeked at her curiously, lips bitten shut as his curiosity threatened to spill.

_Oh. So that’s why._

“I know you now, you’re one of the oldest, and scariest, wind spirits of the century...” Renjun whispered, looking up to the wind spirit, his eyes wide with wonder and awe.

(Well well well, someone has been paying attention to his history classes, haven’t you? Yes, that’s what I am… Hyuckie’s father sought after me, begging me to protect his son and wife, and well… it’s hard not to be attached to the boy, he has been such a bundle of joy.)

“So you’re saying… Donghyuck’s affinity isn’t with the Winds?” Renjun swallowed, his brain clearly exploding under the sudden influx of information.

(Ah, he definitely is affinited to the Winds, however… I do suspect he might have a secondary affinity with Earth.)

This was definitely not something he expected from the wind spirit but it was certainly something. Renjun now holds the confirmation that Donghyuck was indeed the missing Crown Prince and the problem was how should he go about awakening the powers within him. It was clear that his father had sealed his powers away in such a powerful spell that the eighteenth manifestation didn’t even happen to him. It was the coming of age manifestation that was the most powerful and the one that fully awakened their powers. Renjun pouted at the wind spirit and was about to ask more when he heard the backdoor open and Jeno’s voice came through.

Jeno, Jaemin and Donghyuck were making their way over to him as Renjun turned to face them, his eyes trained on Donghyuck who was trailing behind the other two. Renjun caught another blast of emotions and he swallowed the lump in his throat. At least it wasn’t negativity, but more of embarrassment and shyness. Renjun felt himself break into a soft smile at the shyness radiating from Donghyuck, a result from his outburst of emotions just now. Renjun gently felt his emotions, humming when he found that the negative emotions were tucked safely away. The relief that flooded through him when he was sure that Donghyuck felt better was intense and he was pretty sure both Jeno and Jaemin could feel it ebbing away from him. Renjun kept his eyes averted to the grass, willing himself to keep his emotions in check as well.

(I’ll come and find you to talk more about this, sweetcakes. Please tell me if you need any help, you’ll need it.)

Renjun nodded briefly, schooling his expression into a neutral one as he smiled at his friends. His emotions whipped within himself, but he encased them within the little bubble he had created. He wouldn’t want to affect Donghyuck’s emotions again, not when Jeno and Jaemin had just calmed him down. Jaemin looked at him curiously, clearly having caught a whiff of his emotions before he managed to collect them back in. Renjun looked away from his gaze as Jeno raised an eyebrow but didn't make a comment. Renjun knew that they would definitely grill him about it later when Donghyuck got home. Jaemin simply broke away from Jeno, slinging an arm across Renjun’s shoulder and breathed a warning into his neck. Renjun gave him a soft whack on the head and Jeno visibly relaxed beside Donghyuck.

“Renjunnie, we are planning to head out to that diner for their sundaes, do you wanna join us?” Jaemin extended an invitation to Renjun, but the tone he used told Renjun that he cannot reject the invitation.

Renjun nodded eagerly, turning to look at Donghyuck who gave him a tiny smile. Renjun smiled back, willing himself to not reach out to hold his hand as Jaemin returned to his spot beside Jeno, already on their way back to the house. Donghyuck gave him a small smile again, falling in step with Renjun as they followed behind the duo. Renjun sensed a wave of bravery from him before his fingers reached for Renjun’s own and he intertwined their hands together wordlessly. His hands were warm and fit perfectly in Renjun’s colder ones, making Donghyuck frown a little. He gripped on to Renjun’s hands tighter and stuffed their hands into his hoodie pocket.

“Why are you so cold,” Donghyuck grumbled as they stepped into the warmth of Kun’s coven.

Renjun shrugged as he grabbed his beige Burberry coat and Donghyuck grabbed his black Burberry one (both coats courtesy of Lucas because “they gave me a wrong size and Mark doesn’t feel the cold!” — “Lucas, you don’t feel the cold too, man!”) Jeno and Jaemin were waiting for them by the porch and beamed at them when they approached. They made it through the gates together and as they made their way to the diner, Donghyuck entwined their fingers together again and stuffed them into his coat, still grumbling about the coldness coming from Renjun. Renjun chuckled, stretching up to poke him in his puffy cheeks as he leaned closer to Donghyuck.

“Moon Fairies are meant to be colder than normal, Donghyuck. Plus, I’m not afraid of the cold when you’re so warm… is this why the rest of the group calls you sunshine?” Renjun mumbled as they strolled behind the pair of devil and angel.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Donghyuck muttered confusedly.

Nothing ever made sense when it came to being magical, Renjun wanted to reply. But he bit his tongue and willed himself to not say anything. Renjun quietly gazed at the orange trees that were already shedding off their leaves and listened to the delightful crunch under his shoes, silently losing himself in his own thoughts. Donghyuck tugged him closer, making him press up comfortably against his arm, and Renjun found that he really didn't mind the heat radiating off Donghyuck.

Donghyuck was like a pocket sun, so warm, so radiant, so blinding.

——————————————

Renjun was stumped.

He was stuck on the stagnant stage of trying to awaken Donghyuck’s sun powers. The worst part? No one could help him with it. Nothing Kun had suggested over the past weeks had worked, and he was starting to think that his stunt with telepathy was something his mind had come up with. There had been absolutely no advancement from that lucky moment, and Donghyuck seemed to be ignoring his attempts at telepathy now. Thoughts haunted Renjun as he fretted over his chances and hopes as he travelled out of town to scurry for more information of the old spell. Gale had never heard of a counter-spell and she was worried about Renjun as he fittered in and out of town trying to find a way to establish a connection with Donghyuck again.

Renjun even missed his one-year anniversary because he had been in and out of town. Kun threw him an anniversary party just two weeks ago when he finally had a break between his trips. There had been no progress at all. Renjun stared out of the window, blinking back tears of frustration as he whined to the Moon hanging brightly above. He had reported back to his father’s friend and he had been nothing but kind to Renjun’s failures. Renjun had been trying to coax his powers out for the past fortnight and nothing, absolutely nothing helped. It seemed like his magic had decided to return to its cave after that very successful telepathy attempt before.

“It’s okay, Renjun. I placed a very, very strong spell on him… and I have a feeling that my wife has been foiling your attempts,” the now King of the Sun Fairies had told him softly when he returned home for a week.

Renjun was not ready to back down without a fight. He was sure he could get Donghyuck’s powers to manifest on their own. He hadn’t spoken to Donghyuck’s mother much to Gale’s dismay and disappointment, but Renjun refused to admit that the woman frightened him. She had an unnerving stare that she fixed on Renjun whenever he was over and it made him terrified. He told Donghyuck about it one night as they stargazed on Kun’s roof, a rare chance of a sleepover because Donghyuck’s mother needed to get to the next town for a business deal. Donghyuck ran his fingers into Renjun’s hair, braiding the long strands deftly in this hand and Renjun stared at the twinkling lights above them.

“My mom? Renjun, you’re being silly!” Donghyuck laughed and Renjun reached a hand up to flick his forehead.

“Shut up,” Renjun groaned and Donghyuck giggled about it. “You’re never going to let me live it down, are you?”

“Nope! Not when you’re being so adorable about it.”

“I’m going to punch you, I swear—”

And that’s that.

So a couple of days later, after a few missed encounters and a near run-through with a passing herd of Fairies, Renjun sat on the couch in Kun’s coven dejectedly. He was licking his wounds like an injured cat, sulking his night away until Kun returned home. His mood was bad enough that he could feel the others’ anxiousness peaking in their own room. He was sure that no one had approached him because Yangyang probably advised (read: threatened) everyone to avoid him for the night. Renjun was thankful for the help because he was pretty sure he would have punched Jeno in the face if he were to make another remark about how much an ass he was.

Renjun knew he had been making everyone in the house walk on eggshells these days which was why he was itching to leave on another journey. But Kun had specifically told him to wait for his return — “my coven needs protection, and you’re the best person to help me,” Kun shrugged before he left with a light overnight bag — and Renjun knew some of them were wary of him ever since the Chenle incident.

———————

The Chenle Incident happened a month or so ago, Renjun couldn’t really remember when exactly. There was a new human family in town and well, as all new families had to, they were asked to sign a magical contract to ensure the safety of both Human and Magical beings. One day, while they were out on their chores, their little boy was spooked by a floating Chenle on his way to Kun’s teahouse. The parents had felt that it was a personalised attack towards them, as the boy was so terrified that he was inconsolable. They secretly called in an exorcist from the neighbouring town, and had lured Chenle out of the goodness of his heart — a staged wailing of a child. When Chenle realised he stepped into an invisible intricately drawn trap, it was too late.

Renjun was with the whole coven in the kitchen when the list wailed a loud “CODE BLOOD RED for CHENLE” and Kun’s blood ran cold. Before Renjun and the rest of the coven could ask, Kun burst into flames, disappearing on his spot. Gale whispered the address into Renjun’s ears and promised to keep Donghyuck away as Renjun relayed the message. He casted a quick teleportation spell on those who needed it as Jeno gathered his shadows, disappearing within them. They reached the site and watched Kun get stuck at the front.

No one was able to cross the threshold.

Renjun remembered that Chenle was rescued by Kun from a similar incident, and he quickly called Ten in his mind to get him to come. Renjun peeked at Kun cautiously, watching flames dripping off the hands of the witch and burning the ground he stood. Renjun gave Yangyang a look which he replied with a nod and Renjun moved closer to the witch who was trembling, seemingly fighting within himself, as he stood before the spell. Renjun traced the spell with his eyes and quickly gathered his magic in his hands when Kun let out a sharp heat wave. Renjun was thankful that his affinity was with the fire so it didn’t hurt him. The next moment his blood ran cold.

Chenle belt out a painful scream from within and Renjun froze in his steps.

_Oh shit._

Sungchan whimpered quietly behind Yangyang when they heard a loud scream from Chenle as the Yangyang’s wings flared out behind him, wrapping around Sungchan and Shotaro quickly. Renjun kept an eye on Kun as he heard Jisung wail and fought against Jaemin and Jeno’s collective efforts to reach his best friend, thrashing against the angel’s steel grip. Renjun sent Ten another panicked message to get his entire being here, it was going to turn bad soon.

“LET ME GO!” Jisung screamed as he tried to pull away from Jaemin’s iron grip.

Jaemin shook his head and Jeno had trapped his feet in a bundle of shadows. Renjun shuddered at the look of pure, unadulterated loathing Jisung threw at them as he bucked against their grip. Renjun faced Kun, a shiver running down his back, at the look of forlorn on the oldest man’s face. His eyes were ruby red, most of his irises had already melted into a full ruby red, and Renjun knew he had to intervene before Kun hurt himself or worse, any of his other children. He caught a burst of shadow and knew that Ten had received his call for help. He watched flames burning up Kun’s arms, a low whisper escaped his lips, and then he chanted.

His voice remained light and melodious as Kun sang an old rhyme about eternal tragedy and doom, casting a powerful spell that would easily reduce the family and their future bloodline to devastation.

The coven, and eventually the town too, was guided by a simple unspoken rule: no one was to touch a strand of Chenle or Yangyang’s hair or you’ll deal with Kun’s wrath.

No one was to lay a hand on his imprinted sons. Not while he, Qian Kun, was still alive.

The chanting quickened and Renjun finally realised what was wrong. The words now seemed familiar, and he had heard his mentor Victoria speak of an old magic that required a strong and powerful witch to cast. No doubt Kun would have known the curse and it seemed that his emotions had grown overboard when Chenle was involved. Kun had always been fiercely protective of both Chenle and Yangyang.

So when Renjun heard the low murmur of a phoenix song played in the distance, a shiver slid down his spine. Before Renjun could think of a way to stop his current guardian and mentor, Ten threw himself on Kun, yelping softly along the way as Kun’s flames burnt him. He gathered his own shadows around Kun’s lips, stopping the incantation. Kun turned to face Ten and Renjun watched the shapeshifter hold his cheeks between his hands.

“Kun," Ten called out, his hands tightened on the witch's cheeks. "Kun, come back to me, please."

Renjun looked away as Ten leaned in towards the motionless man, turning his attention on the intricate but poorly drawn spell. It would be easy to break if Renjun played his cards right, so he gathered his powers into the form of a sharp knife and before anyone could stop him, he stabbed the knife into the middle of the pattern. There was a loud cracking sound and the pattern before him shattered. He heard loud reactions from his friends but Renjun could hardly care. He had to get to Chenle or it would be too late.

The breaking of the barrier had shocked the Exorcist and he stopped in his exorcism. He turned angrily to the door, before his face fell into something that Renjun felt an ounce of glee in.

_Fear._

Renjun took the chance of his distraction to dart across to the center of the room where Chenle was floating semi-consciously. Renjun shifted his gaze to the cowering family behind the Exorcist, by the wardrobe, and he saw red. He closed his eyes and carefully called forth his own affinity, feeling the familiar sensation of fire creeping along the tips of his hands.

He slammed his palm down to the edge of the trapping spell the Exorcist had drawn and carefully broke through the spell by purposefully picking out various markings to destroy. He heard a low whimper from Chenle and Renjun coaxed him to hold on a little more. The Exorcist tried to stop him but Renjun just slammed him to the wall and held them there as he broke through the spell. Chenle fell from the height and onto a stone that Renjun held up for him.

“Thank you, gege,” Chenle whispered as he possessed the rock, shutting himself within the inanimate object.

Renjun shook his head lightly at the rock and turned to face his friends who entered as he was saving the Poltergeist. Jeno gave him a look of distrust which Renjun adamantly ignored as he threw the rock to Jisung who caught it carefully, cradling to his chest. He mumbled to the rock softly and Renjun sensed the tension melting out of his being when Chenle responded. Renjun carefully ignored the stares he was getting and Yangyang called him gently, giving him a slight nod when Renjun looked over. Renjun smirked and turned his attention on the Exorcist, releasing him from his own magical hold as he rolled his shoulders back.

“Hello,” was the only thing the Exorcist heard because Renjun's fist flew towards his face which was parred off by a block.

Renjun raised his eyebrow, gathering his energy and magic into a ball and tossed it in his hands, looking at him with a sharp look. He heard a low gasp from Jeno when his magic leaked out of him, trapping the family in his own summoning marking, while his eyes narrowed on the Exorcist. His magic wrapped around the Exorcist, feeling his own tainted magic with his supposedly holy body, and he forced the Exorcist to kneel before him. He turned to the trembling form of the family and gave him a smile. They whimpered as his magic forced them to kneel as well. He kept his hold on them and turned to Ten. Kun shook his head weakly and Renjun pouted.

“Just a scratch? As a form of righteous defence because they hurt me while I was trying to save my friend?” Renjun asked again, and the Exorcist let out a soft wail of pain.

“Renjun,” Kun warned, his mind no longer clouded by his emotions.

Renjun sighed and nodded. “I’ll break the Exorcist then.”

“Renjun!”

“Go for it, I’ll like to see his filthy self be in pain,” Ten sneered, eyes narrowing on him. “No one hurts our baby Poltergeist without any consequences.”

“Yongqin!” Kun turned to look at his shapeshifter, pink dusting his cheek. “Don’t encourage him!”

Ten shrugged and Renjun grinned, letting his magic course through the Exorcist and slowly breaking his bones into dust. The Exorcist crumbled to the floor whimpering and begging for mercy. Renjun shook his head and muttered that even the Lord cannot save him from Ten’s wrath. He had guessed that Ten would be pissed off because they nearly made Kun lose his control, and he was angered at how they would have made Kun feel guilty if he had been a second too late. It was a warped sense of justice but Renjun guessed that’s how the two of them worked together — complimenting each other’s flaws and assets. Renjun snapped his magic back swiftly and the Exorcist fell limply against the stone floor as the Mother of the family fainted in her husband’s arms.

And it was at that moment Kun’s coven realised just how powerful Renjun was. Jeno shifted himself in front of Jaemin and Jisung as Renjun turned to face them. Yangyang nodded at them and Sungchan was looking at him in awe. Jeno let out a low growl when he approached. They were unable to say anything because the town’s Mayor arrived at the scene. He gave Renjun a curious look and then at Kun and Ten before he sighed at them. He approached the family cowering at the corner and looked at them reproachfully.

“You signed a contract, and you have defiled the peace in the town. As per the town’s rules, you’re banished from the town forever. You’ll not be allowed to return regardless of reasons. You brought hostile intentions upon an innocent townsperson who had not hurt you in any sense. I’ll personally escort you out with our resident Seer Taeyong to the borders. Get up, we are leaving immediately.”

Renjun’s shoulders snagged with relief as the family left with the Mayor, and the Exorcist was left, still conscious but in great, terrible pain, on the floor. Yangyang ran over and hugged him tightly, whispering praises into his ears. Kun gave him a worried look and Ten checked on the Exorcist cautiously. He turned to Renjun and shook his head.

“I can’t believe you are actually allowing his bones to grow back.”

“Not without a limp, don’t worry.”

They high-fived and Kun cleared his throat, giving Jeno a warning look. “We will talk when we return home.”

Jeno had been hostile to him since then, even after he had explained himself with Kun’s help. Renjun didn’t blame him for he knew he and Kun had broken the most important rule of the coven — don’t hide your strength from your family. Renjun felt guilty like he had just caused a rift in the friend group when Yangyang was quick to take his side, standing in front of him with his eyes glinting red as he stared down Jeno.

Renjun lowered his head in submission hoping it would help the situation. Jeno only growled and threw the door behind them, leaving Renjun with Kun and Yangyang by his side. Kun placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly before he stepped away to find Ten. Yangyang remained by his side quietly as Chenle floated into the room a couple of moments later, eyes red from crying as he threw himself on Renjun, burying his translucent head in the crook of Renjun’s shoulders.

———————

Renjun sipped on the soup that Jaemin had kindly left him and pondered over his notes. He was seriously frustrated and itching to just go out and explore the other towns, trying to find a clue to help with his slump. He heard heavy footfalls from the stairs and a low hiss of “Shut up Jaemin, I know what to do,” before Jeno appeared in the doorway of the living room. He shuffled awkwardly on his feet, hands wringing together as he sheepishly stepped into the living room. Renjun gave him a tired smile and gestured to the chair which Jeno sat in gratefully.

“I’m sorry for being mean these past few weeks…”

“It’s okay, the anger was justified.” Renjun smiled, feeling relaxed after a very long time. “It’s okay, Jeno.”

“I have been interfering with your mission, you needed Donghyuck but I hid him away, and refused to let you be close to him… I had no right to do that. I made you upset and more stressed out… I even pissed off Donghyuck because he missed you a lot.”

Renjun giggled and nodded at Jeno who looked like a puppy who got his toy taken away from him. Jaemin had probably guilted him into apologising and Renjun wondered about their relationship. He smiled at Jeno and hovered a bunch of fresh flowers to him, an offering of peace. Jeno took them with a tiny smile which broke into a brighter one. Jeno yelped and took out a folded piece of paper. Renjun recognised the handwriting and his face lit upon when Kun brought news that he will be returning tonight. He grinned at Jeno and thanked him for receiving the letter on his behalf which was answered by a shake of Jeno’s head as he gestured to Renjun.

“You were the only one holding up Kun’s spell which is insane.”

Renjun chuckled and waved his hand, turning the room’s brightness up as he added a stronger flame to the candles. Jeno blinked in awe and Renjun gave him another smile before he turned to his parchments in front of him. Jeno muttered about not bothering him and slipped away upstairs. Soon enough, Jaemin’s voice reached his ears as Jeno rejoined them before they made their way into Jeno’s room. Renjun pouted at his own writings before him and, determined, took a book from one of the book shelves Kun had in the living room. He flipped through it slowly, trying to find any clues from the old words of the ancient magic practitioners. The looming sense of frustration, disappointment and bitterness toward his progress hung low in the living room.

So when Kun stepped into his house at 3 am and sensed the looming dark cloud in the living room, he quickly dropped his things by the door and hurried to check on Renjun. Kun held a special soft spot for Renjun whom he thought grew up too fast and too early, making him just naturally want to protect that petite Fairy that was entrusted to him. He knew Renjun hated being pitied and carried too much on his shoulder, yet detested asking for assistance. If he could, Renjun would definitely rather find a solution to his slump on his own than seek out Kun’s advice. Sometimes, Renjun reminded Kun of a headstrong dragon he used to care for, inciting a light chuckle from the witch. He wondered if his mentor had seen something in Renjun to offer him a chance to help the young Fairy in his journey.

Kun apparently deemed the current situation in front of him bad enough for an intervention. He left the sulking Fairy on the couch and grabbed those lavender and lemon candles he made the other day, lit three in quick succession and brought out the aromatic oils that were blessed with a spell.

Kun nudged the slumped form of the Fairy gently and prodded him to sit up. Renjun gave him a tired look and greeted him with a soft welcome before he leaned into Kun’s embrace. Kun chuckled endearingly and eased Renjun up to a sitting position, hands finding purchase on his shoulders. He rubbed on the tensed muscles under Renjun’s shirt and quickly lathered his hands with the calming oil. He instructed Renjun to sit back and his oiled hands rested on the exposed skin of his shoulders. Renjun shivered at the coldness as Kun gently massaged his neck and pressed expertly on some points making Renjun whine softly.

“Don’t baby me,” Renjun whined, a low whimper unleashed from his throat when Kun pressed a particular point on his head. “Ow.”

Kun laughed quietly, hands going lighter on his skin as he hummed under his breath. He felt the Fairy grow pliant under his hands and asked him about the past few days. Renjun filled him in about the boys and the Teahouse, and bit his lips hesitantly when he almost let slip something about Ten. He had guessed that both of them had a history behind them and Renjun really didn't want to pry about it. They would eventually tell him when the time came, but for now, Renjun was happy to just watch these two pretending to not care about each other. Doyoung rolled his eyes when Renjun dutifully reported to him about their antics and muttered about “stubborn mules and ridiculous sexual tension from the idiots.” It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. It was almost hilarious to Renjun how these two men were so painfully obvious with their affection for each other.

Kun knew that he knew, he didn’t say a word and just continued with his massage, knuckles buried in his head as he eased the tension out of his body. Renjun left himself relaxed under his strong fingers and sighed happily. Kun pressed into his shoulders painfully and Renjun jolted from his sleep-driven daze. He made a low questioning noise and Kun just continued with his massage. It took him another minute or two before Kun finally spoke, “I have received news that an old friend of mine will be in town, next week. Would you like to meet him?”

It didn't take long for Renjun to make a decision. In fact, in a split second, Renjun knew what would be his answer to that.

“Yes please, that’d be excellent.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the random fact of the fic for this chapter is that: I wasn't supposed to hurt Chenle, but out of self-indulgent, I wanted a powerful Kun scene. That caused the entire 1K KunTen flirting and kiss scene to be deleted, yes I'm still mad at myself but it'll be re-purposed, I promise. If things work out, I'm going to do a WayV side-plot for this *fingers crossed* and that deleted scene will be in it. Yay!
> 
> Next update will be on 8 Jan, 10pm KST :) See you!  
> Drop me a comment if you liked it however short (or long) it may be, give me a kudos if you enjoyed it <33 I welcome anything as long as you're being nice :)


	3. As Moon Fires set in my Throat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun felt the magic caress his own, wrapping themselves over his own powers, acknowledging his presence and his status.
> 
> It hummed as if to say, “Hello Soulmate, I have arrived.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya :) I’m back with Chapter 3!! Yay~
> 
> If anyone noticed, I’ve actually added random information in the end notes for both chapter one and two! I’ll be doing it for this chapter and the final chapter as well :) So do keep a lookout if you’re keen to know random fun facts about this series ^^;
> 
> I shan’t hold anyone back from reading~ Enjoy!!
> 
> Legend:  
>  (Donghyuck’s Little Voice-turned-Wind Friend)  
>  _**Renjun’s telepathic abilities**_
> 
> _**Donghyuck’s telepathic abilities** _

“As I was saying before you two started sucking each other’s faces, _listen to me Ten-ge for fuck’s sake_ , you want me to meet this friend of yours ALONE?” Renjun sipped on his tea and waved his Apple pencil at Ten who rolled his eyes at the young Fairy.

Kun nodded. “Why not? He is one of the gentlest people I know, sharp tongue and mind but he means no harm.”

Ten giggled at the look of incredulity on Renjun’s face and deftly dodged out of the way as Renjun threw a mock punch at him. Kun slid a plate of food over to Ten, dropping another kiss on his head and Renjun faked gagging at them. Kun laughed at him and Renjun gave him a bright smile. Both of them clearly set aside their issues and had patched up — more like made out after clearing the air, Renjun huffed inwardly — and he could already hear the smile in Doyoung’s voice when he finally got the chance to tell the siren. They had grown closer thanks to Donghyuck but Renjun was still slightly intimidated by the siren at times.

If Renjun had noticed the subtle glances of adoration Kun and Ten had been exchanging over the one year he was here, both of them were definitely not hiding their obvious and blatant flirting. Kun took the seat beside Ten and his hand was instantaneously taken by the shapeshifter. Their fingers intertwined on the table as Ten continued doodling on his iPad. Kun leaned on his shoulders, peeking at his drawing with a devastatingly fond look on his face, making Renjun tear his eyes away from the two of them. They have been flirting the moment he joined them in the kitchen and he doesn’t know if he should leave or wait for the rest of the household to join him in this misery.

His prayers were answered when the telltale thundering of footsteps sounded from above. Everyone in the coven had signed up for the same 9 am lecture together. “As a form of brotherhood and solidarity,” reasoned Jaemin when Kun asked them why at the start of the semester. It was already 7:30 am and that meant that they were most probably going to be extremely late for class, but Renjun figured none of them barely cared anymore since the semester was already drawing to an end.

Renjun heard their footsteps and the hollering before he saw them as Yangyang burst through the doorways of the kitchen and squealed at the sight of Kun and Ten by the dining table. He launched himself on Ten and cuddled him tightly before he darted his eyes expectantly between Kun and Ten and then at Renjun. He saw their intertwined hands and cheered, leaning over to high-five Renjun as the rest of the coven flooded into the kitchen. They were shocked to see Ten doodling on his iPad, like he lived here and not a street down, as Kun got up to walk over to the stove to make them breakfast.

Jaemin was the first to break the silence and chirped a bright “Good morning!” to which Ten replied with a grunt, pointing wordlessly to the coffee press that was labelled “Jaemin’s monster drink” and “normal coffee”. Renjun rolled his eyes at the antics of the shapeshifter. If he hadn’t heard him telling Kun that whoever he took into the coven will be counted as his own kin too, Renjun would have thought otherwise. Kun was flabbergasted at the declaration because “Yongqin, that is a lot of responsibilities, I can’t force you to partake in,” but Ten was unusually persuasive. He didn’t flinch when Kun fixed him a sharp gaze which he held undauntingly and after a few moments of silence, Kun nodded and the tension fizzled out.

Jaemin released a delighted squeak and poured himself a huge glass of coffee, plopping into the seat opposite Ten. Jeno helped himself to a healthy normal dose of coffee as he poured a generous amount of milk into his own. Renjun wrinkled his nose at the pair of friends’ antics, wondering what made their tastes so extreme. Jeno sipped on his latte carefully as he slid into the seat beside Renjun. When the buzz of breakfast died down and everyone got into their seats, Renjun fixed an impatient stare at Ten again. The shapeshifter just chuckled and cooed at him as he continued to scribble on his iPad. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and Kun just laughed over his sizzling pan.

“So, checking for the last time, both of you decided that I’ll be the only one to fetch _your_ friend from the train station?” Renjun questioned again, the tone tells Jeno and Jaemin that it wasn’t the first time he had asked.

What shocked them was the synchronised “yeah” from Kun and Ten as Kun slides bacon strips and eggs into plates. He was about to bring them over when Ten flicked his hand and both plates hovered over to the two of them. Renjun made an unimpressed noise and Kun just nodded at him. Ten gently ruffled his hair as he pressed a kiss on the inner skin of Kun’s wrist. Renjun sighed and peeked into Ten’s iPad, in which he was doodling a sketch of their friend group since morning. Yangyang was rambling on to Jeno and Jaemin about how it was a whole Christmas miracle — “but Yangyang, Phoenixes don’t even celebrate Christmas!” Jeno blurted out confusedly — that Kun and Ten finally got their mess out of the way and got back together.

Kun rolled his eyes at the dramatic flair of the Phoenix child as he reached over to swipe a dark line on Ten’s work in progress which earned him a half-hearted growl in response. Kun only chuckled at his reaction and refilled his mug of tea with a wave of his hand. Ten hummed appreciatively and pointed his Apple pencil at Yangyang who was trying to sneak up on him. With his plans thwarted, Yangyang sat back on his stool heavily, pouting at Ten forlornly, as he nibbled on the toast Renjun stuffed into his mouth. There was a lapsed silence before Renjun caught Yangyang’s eyes over his mug and they both burst into fits of giggles.

“Domestic. Married, old couple. Behold, my parents!” Yangyang waved his hand towards the two oldest. Ten rolled his eyes and pulled Kun down for a light peck on the lips, making Yangyang shrieked loudly. “Man, that’s disgusting.”

Jeno and Jaemin blinked confusedly at the chaos and Chenle just slumped over his table, whining about having to go to school with everyone else. Kun returned to the toaster to retrieve more bread for everyone, landing a light, fond rap on Yangyang’s head. There was a light twinkle of amusement, Kun was clearly bemused at the whole energy Yangyang was radiating, as he fixed an unimpressed stare at his young ward.

“Yangyang, must you announce it to everyone?”

“It took my parents almost _seven hundred years_ to be back together after their divorce. Cut me some slack you horrible parents, let me be dramatic for once,” Yangyang bemoaned and draped his body across the table with a loud wail. “Do _you_ even know how it felt to be living with only one parent and trying to ignore the other?”

Ten laughed and pressed a kiss to Kun’s throat, nibbling on the throbbing lump on his neck. Kun shuddered at the touch and his hand found itself tangled in Ten’s hair, pulling him away from him. He growled animalistically at the impish smile the shapeshifter had and lowly warned him about misbehaving in front of the children. Ten pouted but broke away as his fingers curled around the mug of coffee, taking a sip out of it. Renjun watched Jeno’s eyes almost popping out as he gaped at them, making Jaemin sighed deeply and reached over to push his open jaw up. Jeno blinked and turned to his best friend and partner with a look of confusion. Jaemin rolled his eyes and promised to explain later when they are on their way to school.

“It’s not even to the station, Renjunnie. You literally just wait in Yuta’s cafe and then if you hear a cat bell, just look up and you should see him. If Yuta doesn’t see him first, of course. But in the event that Yuta does see him first, just let them have a moment,” Ten turned to look at him. Kun had returned to the stove.

“So this friend of yours is the very reason why Yuta-hyung is currently very single but unavailable,” Renjun questioned the two of them who had gone back to flirting right in front of everyone’s breakfast.

Ten chuckled at the face Kun made when he tried to blow him a kiss. His eyes softened when he turned to Renjun and nodded. Renjun gave him a non-comical grunt as a response but the stabbing of his own Apple pencil on his iPad screen intensified much to the amusement of the two oldest. Ten leaned forward to watch the jabbing of the pencil splattered animated dots across the screen, forming stars across the pastel background. Ten giggled and leaned into Kun’s embrace as Renjun muttered about locking himself in the extensive library that Kun has to get away from their flirty antics.

“But my dear little Renjun, what makes you _think_ the library is safe from our—”

“Yongqin, please, my love… Don’t traumatise the rest of my coven…” Kun smacked his head fondly.

Ten just threw his head back and laughed, shaking his head as Kun gave him a warning look. Renjun chuckled under his breath, his hand hovering over the iPad as he blinked and stared at the time. It was quarter past eight and with that realisation came Jeno’s loud voice as he shouted to the rest of them to _shove their food down their throats_ or they were definitely going to be late to school. Jaemin placed a reassuring hand on his back and pushed him out of the kitchen, sending Chenle and Jisung a sharp look, before they disappeared upstairs to grab everyone’s bags.

"Yes, Mom and Dad..." Chenle muttered and nibbled on his toast, completely ignoring the fact that Jisung was tugging on his arm to hurry up.

When Chenle finally finished his toast and gave Kun and Ten a tight hug, and Yangyang dropping a light kiss on Kun's cheek, they hurried out of the kitchens with Jisung yelling from the door. Renjun chuckled under his breath and stretched in his seat lightly. He picked up his iPad and his mug, pouring more hot water to it as he walked to the door. Ten already had Kun trapped between his arms and the witch's back against the tabletop. Ten already had a leg between Kun's thighs and Renjun shook his head at them.

"Please don't use the kitchen top for your nast—"

Ten threw a handful of the table salt at Renjun as he muttered, "Begone, Fairy!” while he attached his lips on Kun's neck, placing soft fleeting nibbles on the flawless skin.

"Touché, Ten-hyung, Touché," Renjun stuck his tongue out and disappeared with a wave.

As the door swung close behind him, and a loud moan coming from one of them, Renjun returned to his room. He has to meet someone today, and as much as he was dreading it, Renjun reckoned it’ll be better to be there earlier. Yuta’s cafe did serve excellent coffee after all.

———————

Renjun sat in the cafe, blinking at his own notebook where his recent failed attempts sat in his own hand. The notes were written in faerie, much to everyone’s amusement, and he tried not to feel too depressed over the failures. Yuta had popped by a while ago to ruffle his hair kindly and gave him a slice of cake to eat as he waited for the mystery friend of Kun and Ten. He sipped on the earl grey tea latte he ordered and bit on his lips, worrying the plump muscles between his teeth. He tapped his pen frustratedly on the paper as he rubbed a frayed end between his fingers. Yuta seemed to sense his distress from behind the counter because he asked the other staff to take the order, and made his way out of the counter. He was halfway across the cafe when the bell on the door chimed and the door swung open.

Renjun looked up at the chime of the bell and watched Yuta freeze in his step as his eyes took in the newcomer.

Yuta sucked in a breath, as he balled up his hands into a fist and gasped when the newly arrived man walked towards him. There was a momentary silence before a soft chuckle from the man broke it and Yuta whimpered lowly, his lips trembling as he bit down on them. Yuta blinked his tears away when the man stood in a distance and Renjun realised that he was sniffling and rubbing his eyes with his arm. Suddenly, all nine tails exploded behind him and the fluffy white tails quivered in excitement, trembling with emotions, as Yuta bravely took a step forward.

The stranger was still standing at the spot where he had stopped but Renjun noticed his smile widened as he drank in the sight of Yuta. Yuta's heart drummed harder in his ribcage and he took yet another tentative step towards him, his tails quivering behind him. The newcomer laughed again, louder this time as the laughter rang through the cafe clear like a bell. There was no malice in it, just pure amusement.

Cautious. Fearful. _Anticipation_.

Renjun watched a pair of fluffy orange ears appear on his head and a forked orange tail swished out calmly behind him, as Yuta took another step closer. They were now standing an arm's length away and Yuta looked like he was going to hyperventilate any time soon. Renjun tilted his head as he took in the way their magic danced around them as they seeked each other out carefully. Kun had been teaching him about reading magic signatures recently. The stranger reached out and cupped Yuta’s cheek tenderly, their smiles widened across their faces, as he leaned into Yuta’s space.

"Sicheng?" Yuta called out in a mere whisper, voice light and soft, as his eyes searched the face of the man before him.

The man Sicheng laughed again, tone airy and light, as he answered with a shy smile. "It's me, I'm back."

Renjun watched the stranger hold on to Yuta's shaking hands and pulled him into a hug, a hand gently rubbing his back as he whispered into Yuta's ears. Renjun averted his eyes and smiled down on his notebook. Perhaps, some things would never change when it came to loving someone. He knew from the hours talking to Yuta, whenever he dropped by the cafe with Shotaro, that Yuta had always loved another. That's why he had always kept this cafe open, the flame of love ignited, despite the long, trying wait.

Renjun looked up when the two shadows casted upon him. He smiled at the both of them and watched the stranger take the seat opposite his. Yuta kissed his cheeks and bounced away, tails wagging behind him as the Stranger smiled at him demurely. The cat ears had disappeared and there was a twinkle of bells when the man shifted in the seat to get comfortable.

"Hello, I'm Dong Sicheng. You must be Renjun, Kun's newest baby?"

Renjun flushed red at the pet name and Sicheng just smiled. "Don't worry, Kun is always adopting strays... I wondered if he would ever stop doing that but if _that incident_ didn't stop him then, I doubt he ever will."

Renjun cocked his head to the side and blinked, unsure of what to make of the information that was revealed by Sicheng. Sicheng laughed airily and shook his head, a gentle smile toying on his lips. He peered at Renjun curiously and gestured down to the opened notebook laying between them, seeking for permission silently to browse the notes. Renjun nodded eagerly and passed Sicheng the notebook, moving to watch his reaction. Sicheng only hummed lightly and nodded to himself as he flipped through the pages.

Yuta returned with his coffee and pressed another kiss on his head which Sicheng swatted at him to fend him off. Yuta bounced away, his steps lighter than before, and Renjun held back a smile. He closed the notebook and smiled at Renjun gently as he pushed the notebook back at him.

"A little birdie told me that Kun and Ten are back together now?”

Renjun jumped, the question catching him off guard and he nodded warily. "Yes?"

Sicheng chuckled and reached over to ruffle Renjun hair lightly. Renjun shivered at the touch but leaned into the soft caress slightly.

"You seemed to have offended a particularly strong unicorn who had been thwarting your plans.”

Renjun frowned at the statement, racking his mind to recall if there were any unicorns that he had met during his stay here. The mind drew a blank and Sicheng continued.

“I do have a solution for it, but it would require some travelling…” Sicheng took a sip of the coffee in front of him, humming at the familiar roast. “Do you think Kun will let you come with me? It'll be easier if you were to ride on my back. We would be able to make it back within a day or two…”

Renjun nodded and Sicheng beamed.

"Good, we will be travelling to my hometown, the eastern regions of the lands."

"That's too far, how are we supposed to get back so fast?" Renjun blurted out, frowning as he held out a hand to stop Sicheng from moving.

Sicheng raised an eyebrow at the petite Fairy and searched for any signs of a joke on his face. When he realised that Renjun was really, genuinely concerned, Sicheng threw his head back and laughed. Renjun frowned confusedly and Sicheng pressed a warm thumb to smooth out his frown. He collected himself in a moment, wiping away the tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes, as he chuckled at the bewildered expression on Renjun’s face.

"Did my lovely friend Kun not tell you that I'm a _zouwu_ by birth?"

Renjun felt his jaw drop even further and Sicheng just shook his head at his expression and held out a hand. Renjun took it and allowed Sicheng to drag him over to the counter where Yuta was standing. Sicheng exchanged a few hushed words with Yuta and nodded lightly, his right hand cupping Yuta's cheek gently. They exchanged a soft, loving kiss and Sicheng returned to Renjun's side, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Time to pay my best friend a visit then," Sicheng laughed and pulled Renjun out of the shop.

Then, he leapt into action.

———————

Kun was happily curled up on his couch, Ten had shifted into a black cat and was purring on his lap. His pink tongue licked Kun's fingers lightly and Kun growled at him softly, hand stilling on his head. Ten purred and fumbled to press Kun's hands back on his back as the front door opened with a creak. Ten stilled in his movement before he shifted back into his human form and stood before Kun, his tail swishing behind him gave his anxiousness away. Kun just calmly patted his butt and pulled him back on the couch by his belt hoops as Ten made a low whine of distress. Kun broke into a smile as the front gate creaked open and he heard Renjun’s voice across the yard, the smile only grew brighter when he heard the familiar footsteps making their way down the hallways.

Ten froze when he heard a familiar voice floating into the room as the front door clicked open. He turned to Kun and the latter just tugged him back into his embrace just as Renjun called out loudly from the door. Ten whined softly as Kun returned a greeting and told him that they are in the living room. Renjun appeared first, head peeking in cautiously and sighed when he realised that they were properly dressed. Sicheng peeked from behind and Ten let out a soft wail when he saw the familiar cat. He leapt from where he was and jumped onto Sicheng who held him tightly as he smiled at Kun over Ten's shoulders.

"Hello, it's been a while."

Kun chuckled at his greetings and stood up to make his way over to them. Once he stepped closer, Renjun noticed that his eyes were reddening at the rim. Sicheng gently pushed Ten away from his attempts at scenting him on the neck as he stepped into Kun's embrace, resting his head on Kun's shoulders. Kun ran his fingers through his hair, pressing a light kiss on his neck as they pulled away and Sicheng smiled at him.

"About time you bastard, I was getting worried that you won't be returning to us," Ten sniffed and cuddled up to Sicheng who wrinkled his nose in disdain.

Kun chuckled fondly at the two of them and turned to Renjun, eyes curious at how their meeting went.

"Yuta-hyung cried," Renjun giggled and Ten cursed under his breath.

"Shit, I have to pay Doyoung money now. Damn that fox, can't he control his emotions, he is supposed to be older."

Kun laughed and pinched Ten's cheek lovingly, as Sicheng grimaced at their antics. Renjun laughed beside them and Sicheng immediately latched himself onto the Fairy.

"This," he cried, shaking his finger at them, "This is disgusting! I can't believe that for once, the whole universe aligned itself to make these two loggerheads come together. What the actual heck?"

Renjun burst into peals of laughter and Sicheng shook his head forlornly, wailing about never finding peace ever again. Kun giggled and rolled his eyes at the overdramatic _zouwu_ who was muttering about needing to tell Hendery and Dejun about this. Kun perked up at the sound of their old friends' names and Ten yelped about possible news from them. They tumbled into the couch and yelled over each other when Renjun blinked and turned his entire body towards them, remembering something from his earlier conversation with Sicheng.

He pointed an accusatory finger at them and shrieked. “A fucking _zouwu_ , you know a _zouwu_ and never thought to bring it up to me?”

Sicheng looked at him, his curiously peaking and the cat ears coming right back out. Renjun flushed under the scrutinising stare and Kun chuckled at his annoyance. Renjun glared at him and Ten just gave him an impish smirk. Renjun hissed lightly at the smug face and crossed his arms at his current mentor.

"Surprise?" Ten teased and Renjun turned his head aside, ears turning red.

Sicheng laughed and beckoned him to join him on the couch with the rest of them. Renjun squirmed shyly at the contact. _Zouwus_ are rare magical beings and they hate leaving their lairs, so seeing one in real flesh and blood was making Renjun tremble with excitement. Renjun shifted in his slot on the couch as his wings flared out behind him, gleaming and fluttering weakly behind him. Sicheng raised his eyebrows at his wings and asked if he could touch them. Renjun nodded and he felt the soft touches from the zouwu.

"Born under a curse, right?"

“How— nevermind,” Renjun gaped at him again and nodded as Sicheng beamed at him lightly.

His hand lifted from the wings as they heard the front gate open. Renjun picked up a surprised yelp from Yangyang and there was a burst of flame in the center of the living room. Yangyang stepped out of the flame and beamed at Sicheng before he jumped on him happily.

"Gege!"

Sicheng huffed out a squeak and Yangyang was already nuzzling his neck lightly.

"The little demon has grown, haven't you?"

Renjun shifted out of place as Yangyang whined about leaving them for so long and not returning as often as he had promised. Chenle burst through the walls and screamed a loud "WINWIN!" as he leapt onto the pile of Yangyang and Sicheng on the couch. Jeno and Jaemin entered through the doors with Sungchan and Shotaro in tow behind them. Renjun's eyes folded into soft crescents as he greeted them softly. He explained the mess of bodies on the couch as Ten yelled about an elbow in his ribs.

Sicheng threw the two youngest off him and growled at them to behave as he turned to look at Renjun. His ears were pulled back into a fold, looking seemingly like a Scottish fold kitten, and Renjun wondered if it was considered rude to ask Sicheng if he could gently pet his ears. Sicheng flashed his canines at him as he held out a hand to him. Renjun approached them, carefully stepping across the pile of limbs that was Yangyang as he looked at Sicheng with renewed reverence that he could get Yangyang to behave.

Yangyang let out a soft pip and Sicheng wagged a warning finger at him and regarded him sharply. Renjun choked back a giggle which wilted the moment Sicheng turned his sharp gaze on him. Renjun swallowed nervously but held his gaze bravely and Sicheng sighed, reaching a hand out to soothe his hair lightly. Renjun pouted at the obvious coddling and Sicheng just laughed softly.

“Don’t pout," Sicheng chided but his tone kept soft. "Yes, I’ll help you.”

Renjun cheered and threw himself on Sicheng, giving him a tight hug. Kun laughed as he patted Ten on the cheeks gently. Renjun turned to Kun and gave him a tight hug as he thanked Kun profusely for the help he rendered in the form of Sicheng. Kun laughed and pinched his cheeks gently, as he turned to look at Sicheng and asked when they were planning to leave.

"Who's leaving where?" Donghyuck peeked from the door frame and Renjun felt his throat constricting at the sight of the boy.

It has been a week since he had last seen Donghyuck or heard from him. The boy had holed himself up in the local library, buried under his notes and textbooks as he crammed for his — what was that Calcium, no that wasn't the name, oh right _Calculus_ — finals and Renjun hated to admit that he missed him a lot. Apparently he had been very distracting to Donghyuck and wouldn’t have helped him with his studying if he was around. Renjun was slightly offended but he respected Donghyuck’s decision and carefully avoided contacting him. He looked prettier than before and Renjun felt his throat going dry as he perked up when he noticed Renjun, giving him a bright smile from behind Jeno.

Sicheng narrowed his eyes at Donghyuck and turned to look at Renjun, who was blushing a little, and then back to the sun-kissed boy and a smirk grew on his face. "Oh, things are going to get heated," Sicheng thought to himself as he folded his hands on his lap. He watched Renjun had made his way towards Donghyuck and matching smiles adorning their faces as Donghyuck pulled Renjun into a tight hug, hands on his waist while he buried his nose into the crook of Renjun's neck.

This is going to be brilliant and Sicheng was glad that he was back home, to his friends and new friends alike.

——————————————

Renjun was currently at a human fun-fair with Donghyuck. “Relax a little, Renjunnie,” he said with a pout on his face and Renjun couldn’t really refuse. They were finally almost done with Winter which signified that Donghyuck’s own school break was coming to an end. The winter festival was just something the town held before classes resumed and a brilliant way to let the youths in town have one final fun before they return to their daily grind. Renjun, too, had just returned from the trip with Sicheng two days ago and Donghyuck had been very clingy to him ever since.

He bit into the fluffy diabetic cloud that they called _cotton candy_ and he thinks all the agony he had gone through in the past hour and a half was worth it. Especially when Donghyuck chewed on a cookie from the cookie bucket they bought, and made the most obscene noise as he turned to Renjun and told him that the cookies were perfect. Renjun felt his face heat up at the sound he made and nodded, snatching one to stuff into his mouth before he could say something embarrassing.

Renjun was sneaking nervous glances to the sky, hands shaking a little — but not from the cold winter air — as he watched the moon cautiously. Blood Moon is scheduled to arrive in a couple of weeks and that would mean that Renjun’s powers would be affected in some ways. He wasn’t sure how bad it would be this time because Donghyuck had been influencing his powers unknowingly. Renjun knew for certain that his powers would be at their maximum power and he had to be careful. His wings were beating behind him in a frenzy as he trailed behind Donghyuck nervously.

Oh, and Donghyuck's mother decided to tag along to this outing. She had been keeping a sharp eye on Renjun and he was avoiding her eyes at every cost he could. She had eyes like a dragon, keen and piercing, as she looked at Renjun in a way that rendered him into a mess of nerves in front of her. Renjun had almost dropped his bag, and he gave her a tiny smile before she turned away. Renjun’s face flared up in bright red as he fumbled behind the mother and son. They found a spot and laid out the picnic mat as Renjun helped Donghyuck to carefully put out the food they had bought.

Donghyuck screamed aloud that he’ll be back in a jiffy as he dashed off before Renjun could hold him back. Now Renjun was left alone with Donghyuck's mother who stared at him curiously before she patted the space on the picnic mat, beckoning him over. Renjun shuffled over and sat down properly beside the woman who just laughed at his nervousness. He had been here for almost a year and a half, and this was the first time he was formally with the other’s mother outside of their house. He had heard things about her — both the good and bad — but Renjun believed she was a strong warrior for she had brought Donghyuck up alone after his father disappeared when he was nine.

“Fire.” Donghyuck's mother stared at him knowingly. “Your affinity is with the flames, that is rare for a child of the Moon to have.”

Renjun blinked and his eyes rounded with shock and she just threw her head back, laughing at the look he gave her. She smiled at him, uncannily like how Donghyuck gazed at him sometimes. Renjun fidgeted under her gaze and looked down before she called him to look up coaxingly. Her eyes were kind and a little apologetic as she smiled softly at him.

“Darling, don’t be shy. I know who leaves my son with gifts over the past few months. Unfortunately, I am the one thwarting your attempts to awaken my son.” Donghyuck's mother regarded him.

Renjun shut his mouth quickly and the tips of his ears flaring up with heat. She smiled at his reaction, turning to face the sky, eyes fond as she gazed up to the moon. She tilted her head towards Renjun who shyly released his wings, letting them soak up the powers of the moonlight casted upon them. She reached a hand out slowly, seeking for permission to stroke the wings behind Renjun.

Renjun stilled his movements and gave a soft whine when she gently touched, stroking the patterns on his wings, and she pulled back with a bittersweet smile. Renjun watched the dust collected on her hand form into a galloping unicorn which forlicked around them before it faded back into dust. He snapped his head back on her and the last puzzle piece fit into his head.

Why had the potions and attempts not work, why had everything he did for the past months nulled.

Sicheng’s voice rang out in his mind as everything became a lot clearer.

_You seemed to have offended a particularly strong unicorn who has been thwarting your plans._

Lee Donghyuck’s mother was a unicorn, and a very powerful _moon unicorn_ which means she could and had obliterated any of his attempts. Moon unicorns were one of the most powerful of the unicorn species and were super elusive. Renjun swallowed his drink quickly, gears in his mind turning as he tried to think why would she stop any of his plans. He looked up at her confusedly but she must have caught the awe in his eyes because she chuckled at his expression.

“Child…” she sang for his attention and kept his gaze for a moment.

Renjun blinked and turned away, his ears pink again. An apology fell from his lips and he looked up to meet her eyes, earnestly looking at her. She was looking at him expectantly like she was waiting for him to make a move, to _prove_ himself to her for Donghyuck’s sake. Renjun knew it wasn’t easy to impress an unicorn much less to gain an unicorn’s trust, but he also knew that if he needed to awaken the hidden powers of Donghyuck, he would need his mother’s help and trust. Renjun hadn’t wanted to show anyone the letters he had been sending to Donghyuck’s father but if it helped him to gain Donghyuck’s mother, then so be it.

He fashioned the letter out in the air and handed the letter over to her, eyes curious at how she would react. She took it gingerly, reading the name on the letter and a hand jumped to cover her mouth as she squeaked out a gasp. Renjun looked down on his lap, ears burning as he remembered how he would always relay how well Donghyuck was doing and as Yangyang had eloquently said, “Dude, you’re definitely waxing poems about Hyuckie gosh,” when he caught him one night. Donghyuck's mother’s eyes darted between Renjun and the letter, looking for any signs of a joke, a mockery, a lie. Renjun shook his head at the silent question thrown at him and she turned over the letter carefully.

He felt the emotions before he heard the sobs as she ran a finger on the wax seal. Renjun looked away, averting his eyes as he allowed her some personal space. He knew she had trapped them in a bubble and Donghyuck won’t return anytime soon, but Renjun found himself scanning the crowd for him, worry gnawing into the corners of his heart. She looked up after a while, tears glistening in her eyes, the letter held close to her heart as she held out a hand to Renjun.

“Thank you, child. I’m sorry for tripping your attempts… I wished I had gone to Kun much earlier instead of giving you such a hard time, I’m sorry.”

Renjun shook his head at her apology. “Don’t be silly, Donghyuck's mother… I was at fault anyway, I should have approached you first, you are, after all, just looking out for Donghyuck.”

She laughed and pulled Renjun in for a hug as she held him close. “Child, you _are_ made for my son. Don’t ever doubt that, and it isn’t because both of you are born under a cursed phenomenon. And please, if you’ll like… just call me Mom.”

Renjun blinked back tears and she just gave him a secretive smile. She gestured to the sky, gazing up to the moon and turned to him worriedly. “Will you be alright when the Blood Moon comes?”

Renjun was caught off guard by the question and the worry she did not bother masking. It ha d been a while since someone was openly worried for his well being. Blood moons for Renjun have always been bad, it was akin to the wolves’ heat and the struggle to actually control the powers that surged within him. He was usually left shivering in a large, empty room — quadruple locked and charmed for good measure — as things got ripped apart by his powers, leaving a trail of destruction. Donghyuck's mother rested a warm hand on his thigh and smiled at him, eyes reflecting care and concern.

“Why don’t you come up and sleep over when Blood Moon arrives? It’s arriving in a week, isn’t it?”

Renjun flinched and leaned back, rapidly shaking his head. “No! I won’t endanger you or Donghyuck or the human population, no.”

She laughed, summoning a silvery orb of water in her hand, and turned to him. “You will not hurt anyone, not if you’re with me. I’ll talk to Kun about this, he would agree.”

“Kun-ge knows?” Renjun asked meekly.

“My true form? Not really, but he is a smart witch… blessed by the phoenix clan too… I wouldn't put it past him to have guessed what I am.”

Renjun giggled at the praise of his current guardian, and Donghyuck's mother smiled, patting his cheeks fondly.

“Time to let Hyuckie back… it’s nice speaking to you though, Renjunnie. I’m glad you’re the one for my son.”

Renjun offered her a small, shy smile and she dropped the bubble, the noise and chatter from the fair flooded their ears again. Donghyuck skipped back with a milkshake tower and a box of a dozen doughnuts. He pushed a doughnut close to Renjun’s lips, prompting Renjun to lean forward to take a bite out of the doughnut. Donghyuck smiled at him, his form glowing slightly in the dim lighting. Renjun jumped a little when he spotted the faint glow and snapped his head to the mother. She didn’t catch the glow and only gave him a confused look. Renjun shook his head lightly and turned back to Donghyuck who was pouting at him for the lack of attention.

The box of doughnuts laid on the mat invitingly and Renjun reached a hand out to grab the doughnut but Donghyuck slapped his hand away. He fixed him a glare and reached for the doughnut Renjun was going for and adamantly tried to feed Renjun the doughnuts, the tips of his ears flushed red. Renjun muffled his giggle and opened his mouth pliantly, eyes falling shut as he waited for Donghyuck to put the sugary treat back on his lips. Moments passed and yet nothing was delivered to Renjun’s lips causing him to open his eyes, catching Donghyuck who was just staring at him. Renjun could sense the emotions flowing out of him, choking Renjun with the sheer intensity of his feelings.

_Love. Adoration. Fondness._

Donghyuck found that it was a joy to spend every waking moment with Renjun — whether it was just him listening to his voice singing the current hit songs, or the movement of his wings as he landed on his windowsill, or the softness of his hand in his. Nights spent with Donghyuck’s head pillowed in Renjun’s lap as the Fairy carded his finger through his hair, weaving random flowers in his hair as they exchanged tales of their days. Donghyuck recalls the nights spent just quietly basking in the presence of the Fairy as they stargazed with Renjun softly pointing out the various constellations in the pitch black sky.

They had watched many meteor showers together — the Lyrids showers, the Leonids showers, and even spent Christmas eve once together to catch the Ursids showers. Sometimes Donghyuck falls asleep to Renjun’s soothing voice telling him about the tales of the Stars, obviously drained from the activities he had done throughout the day, and Renjun gently carries him back on his bed, tucking him in bed lightly. Donghyuck doesn’t need to know that Renjun would always leave a kiss on his forehead and murmured a low chant of protection before he leaves out of the window.

He could hear Renjun calling him, and the amused chuckle from his own mother. But in this very instance, when the fair lights reflected on Renjun’s face, the way his skin illuminated in the lights, Donghyuck knew he had fallen in love. He thought that he was deeply and pathetically in love with someone out of his league. He also probably shouldn’t have thought about that because now Renjun was looking at him with an odd look on his face. He felt like grimacing but it would just come off rude so Donghyuck dropped his gaze to his lap and prayed that Renjun would let it go.

(Sha-la-la-la-la-la My, oh my… Looks like the boy's too shy… Ain't gonna kiss the girl…)

_**Gale, please… One, Renjun’s a boy and two, I’m having a minor crisis right now!** _

Donghyuck felt the tips of his ears burning when he realised that Renjun heard what Gale had sung because he was staring at Donghyuck with an unreadable expression. He noticed that his mother had left them to their own devices some time back. Donghyuck found his breath clogged up in his windpipe when the Fairy shifted himself on the mat to fully face him. Donghyuck shifted his gaze away, unable to bring himself to look at Renjun who had an expectant look on his face as he waited for him to speak.

When he didn’t say a word for a while and Renjun had shifted even closer to him, Donghyuck heard the familiar noise of frustration from the Fairy. He blinked his tears away, fearing for a word of rejection from Renjun. The secret was already out of the bag, and Donghyuck awaited for the judgement to fall upon him. There was a moment of silence before Renjun leaned forward and grabbed his hand, making him look at him. He looked up and met the Fairy’s eyes, startled a little to see familiar swirls of emotions in the orbs.

“Are you going to say it or not?” Renjun sighed.

Donghyuck blinked, confused at the emotions rolling off the petite boy’s form. He met the Fairy’s eyes and froze when he saw adoration, love and fondness in the inky black orbs. He felt the protective bubble around him before he actually saw the telltale signs of the faint shimmer in the lights. Renjun’s wings bristling frustratedly behind him as he gave Donghyuck a pointed look. Donghyuck’s brains finally caught up on the implication of his frustration and his breath hitched.

It can’t be. But when Renjun reached forward to tangle his hand into Donghyuck’s hair, as he hovered above him, Donghyuck felt like his breath was punched out of his lungs. He stared into Renjun’s eyes, too stunned to even move his limbs.

“Oh, screw it,” Renjun huffed angrily as he pulled him towards himself.

Their lips met and Donghyuck felt his chest swelling with the amount of love he was feeling.

His hands came to rest on Renjun’s waist, feeling the slow beating of Renjun’s wings that had opened behind him, brushing against his hand. He tugged Renjun closer, hands slowly crawling up to rest at the junction between his neck and jaw as their lips slotted with a better angle after Donghyuck tilted his head. Their noses bumped slightly before they pulled apart, gasping for air as the grip in his hair loosen up. Renjun dropped his hand on his shoulder, hands curling around the fabric as he leaned in to press languid, chaste kisses on his jaw, following the moles that dotted his skin.

He pulled back a little, fingers gentle on Donghyuck’s face, as he smiled dazzlingly. “Be mine… Be my boyfriend,” Renjun declared, eyes bright like the moon shining above them.

“I’m yours,” Donghyuck replied as if it was the simplest promise to make.

To seal the promise, Donghyuck pulled Renjun back to him, pressing their lips together again. They laughed breathlessly as Renjun rested his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder, nuzzling the bare skin on his neck. Renjun’s wings fluttered lazily behind him and Donghyuck dared to rest a palm on it, feeling it quiver under his touch. Renjun’s breath caught in his throat as he whimpered at the soft, fleeting caresses Donghyuck pressed on his wings. Donghyuck’s hands dropped back to his waist and held him tighter, flushed against his warm body.

(About time, younglings.)

Renjun chuckled against Donghyuck’s skin, smiling up at him as they pulled away from the hug. Renjun’s hand reached up to cup his cheek, leaning their foreheads together, as Donghyuck leaned right into his touch. Gale brushed past them as Renjun felt Donghyuck’s skin burn up under his touch. Donghyuck shifted to pillow his head into Renjun’s lap as the Fairy fed him the popcorn they bought earlier on. Donghyuck's mother returned after a while and gave them each a knowing look. Renjun blushed whenever he caught her eyes, and she was just tickled at his shyness, finding joy in making him squirmish under her stare.

And it turned out that Ten was indeed right about kissing Donghyuck to awaken his buried powers.

He was carding his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair gently when he felt a low hum of magic coursing through Donghyuck’s veins as the faint presence of the magic mapped out across Donghyuck. Renjun stilled his movement and held his breath, thinking he had mistaken the shift in his magic. But when he heard the low hum of the magic flowing within Donghyuck again, he snapped his head up and met Donghyuck’s mother’s excited gaze, Renjun knew he had not mistakenly felt it. Renjun felt the magic caress his own, wrapping themselves over his own powers, acknowledging his presence and his status.

It hummed as if to say, “Hello Soulmate, I have arrived.”.

——————————————

It had been a week since the fair.

It had also been three days since Donghyuck announced their relationship to the friend circle.

Ten gave him a knowing look and Kun pulled him in for a tight hug, muttering into his ears about how proud he was. Sicheng looked smug as Yuta clung onto him, chin resting on his shoulder as he gave him a thumbs up. Yangyang cheered and held his hand out for the money Jeno, Jaemin, Sungchan and _Jisung_ owe him from the bet they had opened on his relationship status (“What do you mean you open bets about my love life, what kind of friend are you?” // “The very best ones obviously, silly Hyuckie!”) Chenle gave Renjun a knowing look and smirked, looking away when Renjun feint a punch at him.

Donghyuck’s powers had been slowly awakening within his core and a few of them had already caught on. It was hard to ignore anyway, with Donghyuck practically heating up as each second passed. One of the perks of being a Sun Fairy was that you would never be cold and it helped Donghyuck when his affinity element was the wind, aiding him against overheating. Renjun had been trying to find a time and place to tell him about his birth rights, but he kept drawing a blank. He didn’t want to hide the truth from Donghyuck at all, but whenever he wanted to tell the other, there was always someone interrupting.

He had spoken to Donghyuck’s mother about it but she was adamant to have him tell him. Renjun thought of the wooden box, that contained his crown, sitting at the back of his wardrobe, carefully concealed in a spell. He nursed a glass of firewhiskey and stared at his boyfriend forlornly from where he was perched on, letting out another sigh. Donghyuck had been endlessly whining about overheating recently and Renjun was running out of excuses to give Jeno and Jaemin. They were worried about that and Kun’s reassurance didn’t do much to ease their worries. Now they would hover over Donghyuck carefully daily, making sure he was alright. Renjun heaved another sigh and Sicheng wrapped a hand around his waist and murmured into his ears.

“I need to talk to you, come on.”

Renjun sent his glass into the kitchen to be cleaned with a flick of his hand and followed Sicheng out of the backyard. His mind was still clouded with his own thoughts and he bumped into Sicheng who paused on the porch. Renjun blinked at the expectant look on Sicheng’s face before his hazy mind caught on. He casted a simple spell around to stop anyone from eavesdropping on their conversation and Sicheng beamed, pleased. His eyes darted around carefully before turning to Renjun, his eyes regarding him carefully.

“Do you know the conditions of Donghyuck’s birth?” Sicheng whispered.

Renjun nodded, and Sicheng hushed him before he could say anything. Sicheng looked around once more and tugged him closer, lips close to his ears. Renjun squirmed at his touch and Sicheng gripped his forearms tighter.

“His powers will be awakened, once his power fully reaches its peak, on the day that his birth conditions are fulfilled. You must be ready, it will be painful for him because his father cast a protection spell that’s too strong and it has suppressed his powers for too long, it will be explosive.”

Renjun nodded, he had spoken to Donghyuck’s mother and they agreed that when Donghyuck’s powers finally manifest themselves within him, he may not be able to take it. They had tried their best to slowly induce the Sun Fairy powers that were manifesting. Each fairy was born powerless until they turned of age, and their powers would slowly manifest within them. Due to the spell that Donghyuck’s father had casted on him, his powers were locked away in a chest. That explained why his wings are still undeveloped. The older you get, the more painful the manifestation would be. Renjun was an early bloomer, manifesting at a tender age of twelve, and it was still a painful process of his powers flooding his bloodstream and his wings tearing out of him.

Unfortunately for everyone, Donghyuck’s body and core seemed to be rejecting every attempt Renjun had thrown at him. With the upcoming Blood Moon, Renjun was pretty sure — his gut feeling roaring with confidence about it — that it would cause a chemical reaction in Donghyuck as well. This was why they had come up with an agreement for Renjun to spend his Blood Moon with them. Kun had a theory that they could very well cancel out the pain of the Blood Moon and also invoked the start of Donghyuck’s manifestation. If they did succeed with that, when the time comes for Donghyuck’s wings to arrive, he would be in a less painful state. Both Renjun and Donghyuck’s mother had agreed that less pain would be ideal for Donghyuck and Kun could only sigh at their decision.

Kun had warned them countless times about the various possibilities of this risky step they were going to take. Enough that Donghyuck's mother rolled her eyes at him and gave him a reassuring squeeze of his hand. She knew just how high the risk was but she had to try. If this went wrong, not only would her son be in danger so will Renjun. She had already accepted Renjun as her own and would hate to put him in any danger. They all knew that this was a risk they had to take if they wanted Donghyuck to embrace every aspect of himself. Kun offered more potions for them to take on their trip, letting Ten kiss him fondly on the forehead to calm himself down.

“That’s a good plan. If you can awaken some of his powers before the eclipse happens…” Sicheng mumbled thoughtfully.

Renjun made a noise of affirmation. That was something they had been trying to do, but the magic in Donghyuck is as stubborn as the boy himself. Renjun sighed, tugging on his hair lightly, as he undo the spell surrounding them. Sicheng gave him a sympathetic pat on the back before he returned to the warmth of the house. Renjun remained outside, his mind buzzing with information, worry and frustration. Sicheng’s presence was replaced by Donghyuck who wrapped his warm body around Renjun’s cold ones, nose nuzzling his neck. Renjun leaned into his embrace, baring his neck to let him nuzzle closer. Renjun melted into his embrace, sighing blissfully.

“What are you thinking about,” Donghyuck asked, lips moving against Renjun’s neck.

“You,” Renjun whispered back.

That wasn’t too far from the truth, but Renjun felt guilt settling against his core, thick and slimy. He pressed a kiss on Donghyuck’s jaw and nestled his face into the crook of his neck. For once, in his life he had hoped for the Blood Moon to come quickly. Renjun was a little weary from hiding the birth rights from Donghyuck, and even though Donghyuck's mother had told him countless times that it wasn’t his fault, Renjun felt the guilt grow heavier and heavier as the days went by. Donghyuck seemed to sense his distress, and he just wordlessly held him in his arms, making Renjun feel like crying into his chest.

The night of the Blood Moon crept upon them and Jeno whined restlessly to Jaemin who soothed him with a gentle pat. Kun was tasked to trap Jeno in his room when the Moon hung above with which Jeno’s demonic powers would be the strongest. The blood moon stayed true to its rumours — it would heighten the powers of the dark creatures. Even Ten would be locked up in a specially made cell to ensure he didn’t head out and cause mischief. The mayor of the town had already ordered them to cast the protective spells all over the human population to protect the fragile lives of humans. That was also a reason why Renjun wouldn’t be having a sleepover at Donghyuck’s place, but rather at a campsite near the river which would amplify Donghyuck's mother’s powers.

The other reason why Renjun had to do the sleepover was because Jeno had gotten increasingly aggressive towards him when the Blood Moon was approaching. The need to challenge someone stronger than them would have caused a huge rift to Kun’s coven as Renjun was undoubtedly the strongest of the younglings. So, thankfully he had the arrangement with Donghyuck's mother for the ritual. Renjun bade them farewell, and hitched his bag — which contained a bagful of powerful potions for strength, healing and everything else that Kun deemed important — higher as he walked into the forest just beyond Kun’s backyard.

Donghyuck oozed with excitement as Renjun stepped away from the shadows and into the moonlight.

He felt the shift in his power, like a gear shift in a car, the tension and intensity built up slowly. It felt like a purr of the engine of a sports car, slowly warming up, slowly building power and velocity before it combusted into a spawn of energy. Renjun swallowed thickly, choosing to seek comfort in Donghyuck's mother’s embrace. She soothed his nerves as she clasped a moonstone necklace on his neck, fingers curling at his jaw. Renjun choked back and felt a shudder running down his spine, his body trembling as his power surged and threatened to spill over. Donghyuck's mother stepped away briefly and Renjun clamped down on a whine that unfurled in his throat, as she gave him a weak smile and returned to her son’s side.

They looked at each other and Renjun saw the sense of solidarity from her as his magic tried again to break free from him. Renjun dug his nails into his palm, accidentally drawing blood, and he just looked up to the unicorn spirit as he brushed his cut palm on the floor, drawing a perfect circle on the ground. Renjun shuddered again and let his magic flow within him and his wings burst out behind him. The usual pearly white translucent wings were in a gorgeous shade of pastel red, and they looked like they were on fire. He muttered a frantic incantation as he felt his magic bubbled over, falling in waves around him, trying to tear down the shield he had thrown up.

Fight strength with strength, that is something Renjun is good at.

The cuts on his hand healed and Renjun felt like he had grown younger as his body soaked up the light of the moon. He felt powerful, his magic crackled on his hand, dancing in the air, as he released them in controlled bursts of energy. He was basking in the power of the moonlight until he heard a loud whimper from the side. His head snapped up, watching Donghyuck fall to the floor, writhing in pain. His mother was by his side immediately, gently coaxing him with soft, gentle pats on his back. Renjun willed a loud moan down his throat as he curled up to mimic his soulmate’s stance and he felt a strange pull in his head.

_**Renjun? What is happening?** _

_**Donghyuck? Dear lord, did you just initiate a telepathy channel?** _

**_What is happening Renjun, I can’t speak at all… I’m scared…_ **

Renjun looked up and met the panicked eyes of Donghyuck, his hands curled around his neck, clawing at it. Renjun whimpered, feeling the intensity of his panic in him, their souls connected from the surge in power. Renjun tore through his barrier and threw himself at Donghyuck, wings fluttering behind him as he caressed his face gently. Donghyuck clung on to him, ignoring his own mother, and whimpered as he trembled in fear and confusion. Renjun pressed a kiss on his forehead, hands cupping his face gently. He wiped the tears rolling down his cheeks and his heart clenched painfully when he felt the pain Donghyuck was feeling. It was never easy to break from a charm that was meant to hold you down. Renjun pressed fleeting kisses on his moles, trying to soothe the pain.

“Breathe with me Hyuckie, you can do that right?” Renjun mumbled, fingers pressed against his jaw.

_**Yes.** _

Renjun smiled, dazzling under the moonlight as he stroked his thumb over the moles on Donghyuck’s cheeks. He counted as he breathed in and out slowly, watching Donghyuck match his breathing, and he calmed down in his arms. The moon magic in him flowed out, engulfing Donghyuck in a protective cocoon, as his mother watched cautiously at the sidelines. She wasn’t upset at her son’s pain, instead she was pleased that their plan had worked out even better than she thought it would. Donghyuck was far warmer than before and Gale was mildly panicking because she cannot cool him down at all. Renjun channelled his element to soak up the heat as Donghyuck buried himself closer to him.

“It hurts, why does it hurt?” Donghyuck croaked out, his sweat soaked hair hung limply on his face.

“It’ll be better, don’t fight the pain Hyuckie… embrace the pain, it will ease up soon.” Renjun mumbled, pressing another round of kisses on his skin.

His magic was powerful but Donghyuck’s body and core wasn’t strong enough to withstand his powers. Renjun really couldn’t do anything but coax Donghyuck’s own magic to break the chains his father had laid on him for protection. Thankfully, Donghyuck’s magic was receptive to his own, and held on to him as he slowly eased the pain. Their magic hummed and danced around each other, feeling and acknowledging each other’s presence. It felt like they were testing boundaries and Renjun chuckled at the whole situation. He felt Donghyuck’s mother approached them cautiously, and soothingly caressed her fingers on his head. He looked up and she smiled gently.

“I think it’s working, I can feel his magic pulse so strongly now.” She murmured and Donghyuck leaned into her embrace, mumbling a soft “Mom”. Renjun nodded, fingers brushing his cheeks and Donghyuck leaned back into his arms.

“It’ll be tough but we will need to shift him out of his human classes for now… he might have to enroll into the magic classes. But before the eclipse happens in two weeks, he will have to be grounded near me or you…”

Donghyuck’s mother nodded. “He can stay over with Kun, the phoenix blood in Kun might help with Donghyuck’s situation…”

Renjun chuckled, looking down at Donghyuck affectionately, as the boy dozed off in his lap. The magic released had taken a toll on him, and Renjun understood why Kun had packed those energy potions. He felt Donghyuck’s mother shift around and a cool rim of the bottle was pressed against his lips. Renjun thanked her mutely and allowed her to tip the contents into his mouth. He was exhausted from coaxing Donghyuck’s powers and the soothing of the boy’s nerves. Renjun yawned and allowed the potion to kick in, blinking sleepily up to the moon.

Donghyuck’s mother carded her hand into his hair, singing a lullaby softly and Renjun felt his eyelids drooping and within seconds, he slumped over Donghyuck’s sleeping form. “Good night, my boys,” Donghyuck’s mother whispered as she drew a protective bubble to conceal them.

When Renjun woke up in the morning, his cheek was pressed firmly against Donghyuck’s chest, curled up against him. There was a hand on his waist and another in his hair as he heard low murmurs of conversation above his head. Renjun whined and shifted in the embrace, rolling to his side to see Donghyuck staring right back at him. He was glowing under the sunlight, dazzling as he bathed them in warmth. Renjun raised a hand up to hold against his cheek, feeling the tremor of magic bubbling within the other boy.

“Morning,” Donghyuck whispered, brushing a wild strand of hair off his face.

“You…” Renjun whispered back, fingers dancing on his cheek. “You’re glowing and warm.”

Donghyuck held on to his hand, pressing against his own cheek as he shifted them around so he could hover above Renjun. A soft smile played on his lips before Donghyuck leaned down to leave small kisses on Renjun’s forehead, his nose, his cheeks and lastly his lips. Renjun giggled into the kiss and Donghyuck pulled away, sitting up so he could watch Renjun carefully. Renjun sat up and looked at him, feeling the magic sing in his blood, rushing out of him as it eagerly latched on to Renjun's own magic. They shared a smile and Donghyuck’s mother returned with water, looking at them happily.

“Morning Renjun,” she greeted softly and Renjun scrambled to greet her back.

She waved him back down and passed him a bottle of potion. “Drink up another bottle of the potion, and then I think we can head back once Donghyuck stops glowing.”

Renjun’s eyes darted between her and Donghyuck questioningly and she nodded. He had been told of his birth rights and who he truly is. Donghyuck reached out to hold his hand, eyes sparkling as his body shone brighter under the sun. He looked like he was soaking up the warmth and light, synthesising the sunlight into actual powers of his own. His touch was blazing hot and he truly looked like he was a replica of the sun. No, Renjun was sure the sun in the sky was the replica, for Donghyuck looked like he was the sun instead.

My sun, Renjun’s powers whispered, our sun.

Renjun could hardly refute his own magic when Donghyuck traced patterns on his palm absentmindedly. His mother opened two bottles of potion handing one to him and the other to Renjun. Renjun took a tentative sip of the potion, looking at the unicorn spirit cautiously. She laughed, eyes looking apologetic as she ducked her head as an apology for the trick she pulled last night. Renjun smiled, accepting the unspoken apology. It was a wonder he hadn’t wrecked havoc in the area, usually his powers run amok during Blood Moons.

As if reading his mind, Donghyuck’s mother dropped down on the picnic mat beside him and smiled at him softly. “Your powers were somehow nulled by my son’s presence, possibly due to the soulmate bond you two have. It’s not tested or proven, but a hunch says it could be so.”

Renjun nodded to that guess, he had a hunch that they are two sides of a coin, the yin to the yang, dark and light. He had read in one of the forbidden books of dark magic in his father’s library — a soulmate bond is a rare occurrence and something that is extremely sought after. There are spells and incantations to temporarily bond with someone, yet a legitimate soulmate bond is something no magic can replicate. To share such a special bond with Donghyuck meant everything to him, and it was wonderful to even think about.

Renjun worried about their scents now because he had read in one of the books in Kun’s library that every magical being has a scent to them. Only true soulmates will be able to smell each other once they have both reached maturity, and Renjun was curious about how he and Donghyuck smelled. Sungchan had told him once that wolves smell things differently — he smelled Johnny and Jaehyun differently from how they smelled each other. The scent was unique to their soulmate and it was like a shared little secret between them.

“So it means… whenever a Blood Moon or a Solar Eclipse happens, as long as we are beside each other… we would nullify the other’s pain and discomfort? But at the same time, our powers will surge and grow together?” Renjun asked thoughtfully, looking up to the sun.

He realised that he could face the sun without having to squint at it, and his eyes seemed to have a protective layer around it to prevent himself from going blind. Donghyuck grabbed his face and tugged him down swiftly, a flash of annoyance and fear in his eyes as he scolded him for looking into the sun. He could hear soft chuckles and Donghyuck pouted at his mother. “Mom,” he whined. “Say something!”

Renjun chuckled, tapping his cheeks to gain his attention again. He smiled and leaned in to press a fleeting kiss on his lips before he finished the potion in one gulp. He felt the magic lazily swell within him and Renjun flicked his wrist, producing a tiny flame on his palm. Donghyuck looked at it curiously and tried to mimic his action but nothing happened. Gale giggled at his attempt and drifted down to guide him slowly, as Renjun watched on. Donghyuck did have a flair and was a fast learner because twenty minutes and half a sandwich later, there was a small tornado twirling in his palm.

“Look!” Donghyuck squeaked, looking at Renjun with his huge sparkly eyes.

Renjun just smirked and blew a tiny flame over to the tornado, watching it flare up in a pretty, fiery swirl. Donghyuck nearly dropped it as he gazed at it in wonder. Wow, he mouthed and gently stroked the flaming tornado, looking at it like it was his first child. He let out a loud peal of laughter as he chased Gale around. Renjun looked at him fondly as he turned to Donghyuck’s mother who was watching her son with a look of pride and content.

“How did he take the news?” Renjun asked shyly, wondering if he overstepped his boundaries.

The woman just laughed, telling him everything he had missed. She had fallen asleep a few hours after watching after them, her protection shield held up thanks to the Blood Moon. She was awakened by the yelping of her son who was panicking over his glowing body. Donghyuck was prancing around _outside_ her protection shield and was glowing in the sunlight. He looked so much like his father then, she lamented as she gazed back at her son who was dancing in the sunlight. His hair tousled due to Gale and he was spinning happily under the sunlight, a sight that Renjun agreed to be mesmerising.

Donghyuck took the news really well, and even thanked his mother for the protection she had given him over the years.

He was told about his birth rights, his true bloodline, and his true form, asked enough questions to satisfy his own curiosity. He learnt that he would have to quit his normal classes and probably take up the classes on the magical side, which means he might have to take a placement exam. He had cheered at the news, only to be hushed by his mom who reminded him that Renjun was still dozing off. He only went silent when his mother spoke about Renjun and his mission from her husband, just very briefly because it was not her story to tell. He looked up to his mother and gave her a small, scared smile.

Renjun looked at her curiously, head tilting in confusion. She chuckled at the memory and continued.

“Does it mean I have to break up with him?” Donghyuck had asked and his mother shook her head.

“No, it just means that you’re stuck together forever,” she corrected him gently.

Donghyuck broke into a smile, his body glowed brighter, and turned to face the sleeping Fairy adoringly. He brushed his knuckles on the Fairy’s cheeks and gently tugged the loose strands of hair off his face. Donghyuck gently eased the sleeping Fairy’s head on his lap, hands gently running through the silvery hair. He looked up to his mother and gave her another blinding smile, reaching out to hold her hand tightly.

Thank you, he told her. Thank you for everything you have done for me over the past years. Now it’s time for me to protect you.

Renjun sniffed a little at the story and Donghyuck’s mother laughed at his tears, rubbing a gentle thumb to wipe his tears for him. She soothed him with her magic and Renjun gave her a watery smile, squeezing her hand to say “I’m so glad things went well” before he turned his gaze back to the enchanting boy. Donghyuck was running along with the wind, hair whipped behind him, feet lifting off the ground as the wind carried him around. His glow had diminished visibly and his mother just muttered about heading back, hands moving to pack up the things they had laid out.

It was time to return to town.

——————————————

The first thing Renjun realised when they arrived in town was how clear his vision was. It had always been clear for him, but the strengthened soulmate's bond heightened everything he had owned — the powers, his visibility, and his sense. He could see specks of dust floating around in the air when he felt Donghyuck grip his hand tighter. Right, he must be frightened now. Donghyuck who had always hoped to be non-human is now truly a non-human, and Renjun bet it felt strange, terrifying and different. Renjun returned his grip with a strong squeeze and watched Donghyuck shrink further behind him, unsure of how he should be moving around.

To say Donghyuck was scared was an understatement.

Sure, he had been literally begging to be non-human since he has been friends with all these magical beings, but nothing prepared him for when he really became non-human. He could feel things that he hadn’t been able to before, see little details like he was reborn and was blessed with 4K vision. Donghyuck was terrified, or excited, or just overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. His head hurt from the information he had received, the emotions he had felt and the changes in the body. Everything felt too much and too strong and the way his body was trying his best to catch up with the multiple changes he was undergoing was stupendous.

The easiest explanation would be that Donghyuck was indeed overwhelmed with the changes — his body just didn’t feel like his, his voice just didn’t feel like his, everything just didn’t feel right or his.

Well, except the feeling of Renjun holding his hand tightly.

Renjun seemed to sense his emotions as his magic reached out to soothe his nerves. His hold on his arm tightened as they made their way up the stone steps of Kun’s coven. Renjun whispered the password in a tongue Donghyuck didn’t understand and the door swung open. They haven’t even made it past the front door when Kun appeared and immediately gave Donghyuck one calculative gaze and heaved a sigh of relief. Kun tugged Renjun into an embrace and Donghyuck _saw_ the relief falling off his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Good job, Renjun. You did so well, my child,” Kun muttered and he turned to look at the mother and son pair, hovering behind Renjun.

Kun held out a hand and beckoned Donghyuck to join them in the embrace which he stumbled into gratefully. He heard his mother laughing quietly behind as she gave Kun a little pat on his back and entered the living room, leaving them behind in the hallway. Renjun nuzzled into his neck, and placed kisses on his moles. Donghyuck flinched when he heard thundering footsteps from above — had footsteps ever been this _loud and painful_ because wow, Donghyuck rather not hear this anymore — and cowered behind Renjun when Jeno, Jaemin, Jisung, Chenle, Sungchan, Shotaro and Yangyang tumbled into view and gaped at them.

“Donghyuck! You’re glowing!” Chenle shrieked and shook Jisung as his best friend hushed him.

Renjun laughed, his voice sounding even sweeter and clearer to Donghyuck now, as he leaned his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. He gave them a look to keep their noises to the minimal before he nodded to the kitchens. Kun gave a breathless laugh and Donghyuck _felt_ the energy bubbling out of him as he fixed him an encouraging smile. Renjun had a hand on his back and gently pushed him to the kitchens, Donghyuck sensing his magic leaking into his body, a welcomed, comforting presence for him. He felt something in him reach back towards Renjun and it must’ve been a good thing because Renjun smiled even wider at that gesture. His thumb brushed past his jawline and he kissed him lightly under his jaw, nipping at the skin.

“We are talking over breakfast, I’m starving. And so is Hyuck,” Renjun muttered, giving Jeno a sharp look, folding himself into a chair and tugging Donghyuck beside him.

“First Blood Moon experience for Hyuck went well, if that’s what’s bothering you guys, don’t worry he wasn’t _harmed_ but there had been some complications from this…” Renjun trailed off to bite on the sausage Donghyuck held near his mouth.

The rest of their friends crowded around the dining table and watched as Kun piled breakfast on their plates and shushed them to their own plates. When everyone finally settled down and Yangyang stopped staring at Donghyuck, the newly awakened Fairy finally realised that his mother was not around.

He looked around frantically for her before Kun caught on his actions and gently told him that she retired to rest. She did use up quite a bit of power to ensure Renjun was alright and keeping the protective bubble up. Renjun made a loud noise of protest that she _tricked_ him into drinking the sleeping potion and hence he was knocked out immediately after that. Kun quietly chuckled under his breath and reached a hand to ruffle Renjun’s hair. Renjun ducked his head in shame and only looked up when Donghyuck stroked his cheeks gently, pressing a kiss to his jaw.

“Don’t apologise, love. It’s not your fault,” Donghyuck mumbled and Renjun gave him a blinding smile.

“Yeah, and now Doyoung owes me money… and I guess Ten gets to gloat about it too,” Kun smiled at them, passing them each a mug of hot chocolate.

Renjun giggled breathlessly into Donghyuck’s shoulder and turned back to the group of friends who were still staring at Donghyuck. The mere display of affection had caused him to glow faintly again and Renjun swallowed a bubble of laughter that was threatening to fall as he made a mental note to teach him how to control his emotions. Donghyuck realised he was glowing again and blushed deep red as he flailed around a little trying to dim his light but only just shone brighter.

Renjun laughed into his ears, tugging him to face him as he rested his forehead against his. “Calm down, darling. The light corresponds to your emotions, you’ll need to calm down, breathe with me again.”

Donghyuck pouted but tried to keep his breathing in pace with Renjun and after a few moments of breathing his light dimmed. Renjun brushed his hand through Donghyuck’s hair, pressing a kiss to his forehead. His magic whipped around them and carressed every fiber and nerves in Donghyuck as he purred lowly into his ears.

“Well done.”

Donghyuck beamed under the praise and Renjun just smiled at him as he shoved a toast in his mouth. The Fairy turned back to their friends and sighed, cradling his arms around the mug. They were brimming with curiosity but, out of their love for Donghyuck, they had noticed just how overwhelmed he was already, they had kept their silence. Renjun could feel the stares from Jeno and the curious glances from Yangyang bouncing off him. He gave Donghyuck a brief glance and shook his head slightly at their friends, they slumped over disappointedly and Chenle was fully pouting at him across the table.

The shift in their emotions didn't go unnoticed unfortunately. Donghyuck looked up when he heard a louder hum of emotions and watched them curiously, eyes widened at the obvious energy tumbling out of them. There was a shimmering layer of heat signatures around Jeno and Yangyang who were burning up as Jaemin had a serene look on his face. Chenle was flickering between frosted opaque and translucent while Jisung was nearly falling off his chair as they eyed Renjun carefully, his interest was poorly concealed. Donghyuck gasped when he saw the fluffy ears on Shotaro and Sungchan’s head as their tails wagged behind them. Renjun sighed and weaved his fingers into the loose strands of Donghyuck’s hair.

“So, basically… long story, shortened — Donghyuck is a Sun Fairy, and he had his powers locked away by his father when he left them many years ago. He is also the rightful heir to the throne, and also his powers are only half awakened so I guess we have to wait until the conditions for a full awakening happens," Renjun explained as he sipped on his coffee.

The group nodded, smiling at Donghyuck who visibly relaxed when he realised that his friends didn’t mind his changes. Jeno gave him a bright smile and Jaemin reached over to squeeze his hand briefly. 

“It’s not like he changed anyway, we have always called him sunshine instinctively and I guess this is why?” Yangyang shrugged, stealing a toast off Renjun’s plate.

“Yeah, Hyuck had always given up warmth like a sun so it doesn’t matter,” Sungchan barked in affirmation and Shotaro nodded quietly beside him, nibbling on the bacon strips.

Jeno remained silent, looking at Donghyuck with unwavering eyes. “School,” he said eventually. “What about school?”

Kun stepped in with Ten who — clearly had slept over, probably to calm Kun who was probably stressed out of his mind over this crazy plan Renjun and Donghyuck’s mother had — ruffled Donghyuck’s hair adoringly. Renjun found it extremely endearing that they have each other for comfort, especially since both of them are amazingly powerful magical beings and are on two ends of the scale. Ten gently removed himself from Kun's side and helped himself to the coffee, giving a delighted hum when he took a sip. 

“We have already spoken to the headmaster, he will be proceeding with the course transfer,” Kun nodded to Donghyuck enthusiastically.

“Kun and I will be schooling him until the new term starts in January next year. Donghyuck will be fine, he will do well,” Ten added on, giving him an evil smile and Renjun felt a shiver down his back as he gave the shapeshifter an unamused look.

Jeno nodded as Sungchan leaned closer to Donghyuck, a glint in his eyes. Shotaro and him have been staring at him curiously ever since they stepped through the doors and Donghyuck swore he could see the puppy ears twitching on Sungchan’s head. Sungchan beamed and nodded, making the dog ears flap around as his smile widened. Shotaro chortled at his reaction, landing a gentle smack on his head as he sent a bright smile at Donghyuck’s direction. Donghyuck leaned back slightly and gasped at the swishing tails behind Shotaro. He heard a clear twinkling of bells as Shotaro shook his head lightly, tilting his head at his action and giggled airily. His fox ears bristled at the action and Donghyuck looked like he was in wonderland.

“My disguise no longer works on you, Donghyuck. It only works for humans, and you’re not quite human anymore.” Shotaro explained quietly.

Donghyuck nodded enthusiastically and asked if he could touch the ears. He jumped lightly when Sungchan bared his teeth and growled at him as Shotaro turned pink at his words. A calm hand rested on Sungchan’s head and Sungchan calmed down to just glowered at Donghyuck. Jeno chortled at the sentence leaning into Jaemin’s side as the angel smacked him hard on the shoulder.

“No, you may not,” Sungchan growled and pulled Shotaro closer to him.

Donghyuck jumped at the display of aggression and Shotaro flushed red, covering Sungchan’s mouth with his palm. He murmured something into Sungchan’s ears and they watched the taller boy pout at the words. Renjun explained to Donghyuck, cheeks red from his boyfriend’s words, and Donghyuck’s brain finally caught on that touching ears are very intimate gestures between lovers. He muttered a quiet apology to Sungchan who accepted it with a huff.

“Sorry, Hyuckie, for snapping at you.” Sungchan apologised, cheeks flaming as Shotaro gave him a warm smile.

“I overstepped the boundaries, it’s okay! Just that Renjun lets me touch his wi—” Donghyuck shook his hand and Renjun yelped at his sentence, face burning in embarrassment.

He really needed to talk to Donghyuck about oversharing information and the different meanings of touches and boundaries for magical folk. Donghyuck frowned at the reaction and wondered what he said to ignite such a dramatic response. He watched in awe as flames licked across Jeno’s palms before he felt the heat from them. Kun gave him a sharp look and the flame flickered out as Jeno blushed under the stare. Jaemin chuckled and cooed at his boyfriend sweetly, as Renjun rolled his eyes at the scene. Donghyuck wondered if all these had been happening under his nose and presence over the years. Donghyuck was pulled out of his thought when Renjun rubbed his thumb over his wrist, gently coaxing him back to reality.

The moment was broken when Yangyang yelped suddenly and there was a burst of flames, the toast in his hand was burnt into crisps. He looked sadly down to the burnt crumbs in his plate as Kun sighed and made his way over. He spoke in a tongue that Donghyuck doesn’t recognise, and he turned to Renjun questioningly. Kun caught the movement and looked up, eyes twinkling with hidden mirth, as he spoke to Donghyuck directly.

“Probably a good time to let you know that the reason why I’m Yangyang’s legal guardian is because I have been blessed by Phoenix blood, and I’m unfortunately a couple hundreds years old already.”

Donghyuck gaped at him as a loud noise of protest slipped from his lips. “What? I thought Kun-hyung was a human?”

“Only barely, I’m kept alive by the mere power bestowed by the Phoenix clan and of course from the mating mark Ten gave me la—”

“Okay, no one needed to hear that but right,” Yangyang mock-puked on the table as Renjun giggled at Kun’s furious look.

Karma made her way to Yangyang soon enough as Yangyang swallowed a mouthful of toast and left him in a choking mess. Renjun teased him in the tongue that Kun spoke which made Yangyang blinked at him confusedly. Kun handed him a glass of water and explained that Renjun picked some of the language books in his library and had taken upon himself to learn the phoenix tongue.

“Damn, you mean I can’t talk shit about Renjun in— ow, don’t hit me, I’m just kidding, ow!”

That night when Donghyuck stayed over in Kun’s coven, curled up against Renjun’s body in his arms, and Renjun placing fleeting kisses on his neck, Donghyuck thought everything was perfect. Renjun’s eyes shone silver in the dark and Donghyuck held his cheeks between his palms and pressed a light, chaste kiss on his plump lips. Renjun clung on to his biceps and pulled him in closer, shifting them around until Donghyuck’s back hit the mattress and Renjun was hovering above him. They pulled away gasping for breath as Renjun’s wings fluttered behind him, the red gleam from the Blood Moon slowly ebbing away.

“You’re so insanely beautiful,” Donghyuck muttered tenderly, his chocolate eyes so warm and gentle as he held on to Renjun’s cheeks.

“With this new vision I gained, Huang Renjun, you’re so ethereal.”

Renjun laughed quietly as he lowered himself down on Donghyuck, capturing his lips again. His tongue lapped gently on Donghyuck’s lips and slipped in the moment Donghyuck allowed him access. Renjun shifted in his lap, moving to straddle him as their kiss deepened. Donghyuck slid one hand to Renjun’s lower back as the other rubbed circular motions on his waist. Renjun whimpered into the kiss and Donghyuck just took the chance to slot their mouths even tighter.

“Hyuck,” Renjun whispered when they broke apart, lips wet with spit.

His hand brushed a stray hair off Donghyuck’s face and burst out laughing at everything they had gone through in the past 48 hours. Donghyuck gripped on to his waist and pulled him down for another crushing kiss as his hand shifted to grope Renjun’s ass, making the other whimper into his mouth. Donghyuck kissed his way down to Renjun's neck, biting on the skin as he licked his way down to the collarbones. He placed soft nibbles on the bare skin and thrusted his hips up, making Renjun gasped at the sudden friction.

“Hyuckie,” Renjun stopped him with a hand on his chest, feeling the heat radiating off Donghyuck.

“I want…” Donghyuck whispered, his voice low enough to be a purr as his eyes blazing with love, lust and every other emotion. “I want you, Renjun.”

Renjun whimpered at words, falling down to hide his face in Donghyuck’s neck. “So unfair, this is foul play!”

“Did I misread the signs?” Donghyuck asked softly, hands back on his waist, ready to place some distance between them.

“No, you dumbass!” Renjun cried out. “I-I want this as much as you do, idiot!”

Donghyuck grinned and pulled Renjun back towards him, lips returning to his neck. Renjun shuddered when Donghyuck's warm hand slid into his pyjamas pants and cupped him in his hand. Renjun shoved his fingers into Donghyuck’s hair and tugged on them painfully, returning the bites he received back to the other boy.

“I hope you don’t regret saying that, darling,” Donghyuck muttered against Renjun’s ears as he shifted their positions and Renjun was shoved into the mattress.

As the room and Donghyuck heated up under his fingers, Renjun remembered faintly in his lust clouded mind about the door and the other occupants in Kun’s coven. But before he could take action to put up a noise-cancelling barrier, his boyfriend gave an experimental stroke which made Renjun whine breathlessly, thrusting into Donghyuck’s hand as he arched off the bed. The thought doesn’t return to Renjun until a few moments later, accompanied by an exceptionally well executed flick of Donghyuck’s wrist which rendered Renjun into a moaning mess beneath his boyfriend.

Renjun choked out a soft “wait” and Donghyuck stilled his movement. Renjun whined at the loss but he raised his hand towards the door and chanted frantically a spell, fingers moving to form a spell circle as he flicked his wrist towards the door. Donghyuck raised his eyebrows at him and Renjun blushed deeply.

“Keeping the noise in?” Renjun blinked coyly, a smile tugging on his lips as Donghyuck whined at the mere not so innocent implication that Renjun would be _loud_. “So we can be as loud as we want, and no one but ourselves will hear it.”

And that was the last coherent sentence Renjun could cry out that night as Donghyuck took his word for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the first draft, due to no outline and stuff, there were FOUR Sichengs in the plot. He was a wood nymph (originally to be paired with Jaehyun for some JaeWin), he was the other Witch in Kun’s coven so I can have some Mentor/Mentee moment with WinRen, and the third was a phoenix but I changed that to Yangyang. The last was Sicheng as a zouwu which I kept for the final product of this :) With the addition of Shotaro, I also changed Yuta’s character to be a fox spirit (he was supposed to be a dragon) to match our little baby otter!
> 
> The RenHyuck Kiss Scene was the first scene I wrote when I decided to expand on this little world I’ve built up :) They were originally supposed to kiss earlier but I wrote more things and well… *gestures around wildly* but hey they kissed woots woots (fire truck!) (okay, that's lame, sorry ^^;) At least they got an additional scene in the end *wiggles eyebrows*
> 
> Drop me a comment if you liked it however short (or long) it may be, give me a kudos if you enjoyed it too <33 I welcome anything as long as you're being nice :)


	4. Until the Stars are all Alight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's cute and all that you're waxing poems about your boyfriend but no, I meant to say like his birth rights and everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the final chapter of the Fairies AU :)  
>  Those who had been reading as it updates, I hope you had fun on this journey! Thank you for reading :)
> 
> I won't ramble here so go ahead and enjoy!
> 
> Legend:  
>  (Donghyuck’s Little Voice-turned-Wind Friend)  
>  _**Renjun’s telepathic abilities**_
> 
> _**Donghyuck’s telepathic abilities** _

As spring gave way to summer, it seemed to help speed up the process of Donghyuck’s awakening. Unfortunately, Summer was one of Renjun’s most disliked seasons and he would rather deal with his pollen allergies than the heat. Donghyuck barely saw Renjun outside any more, he was either hiding out in the ice parlor that Jaemin was working at or the cafe that Yuta owns with Sicheng as both of them whined about the heat. Donghyuck found it endearing whenever his own boyfriend acted all snappy due to the heat. He had teased him a couple of times only to have Renjun growl at him and unceremoniously kick him off the bed and set up a strong force field to keep him off. Needless to say, after it happened thrice, Donghyuck never quite attempted it again.

Ever since that night of lust and love, Donghyuck’s powers had been growing steadily and stronger each passing day. It seemed that intimacy was the key to the chest that Donghyuck’s father had locked his powers away. He was flickering on and off like a lightbulb whenever he was home much to his mother’s annoyance. He couldn’t control the random bursts of power and that led to several instances of near fire incidents in their apartment. Donghyuck himself was getting stressed about harming innocent humans who were living in their area. So he packed his bags and told his mother that he would live in Kun’s Coven for the time being until his powers were kept under control. His mother spared him one look and a smirk stretched across her feature.

“Only for that purpose or are you missing Renjun?” She teased and watched her son blushed and looked away pointedly.

Donghyuck pouted at the empty space where his mother was standing before she left to get ready to drive him out to Kun’s Coven. He tugged on his collar and his finger grazed the little bruise Renjun had sucked on his neck. He glowed slightly before he took a deep breath and _tried_ to stop his emotions when his mother walked back into the living and laughed at his expression. Donghyuck whined and his mother just twirled her keys as she grabbed her bag. Donghyuck scrambled for his own duffle bag and hurried after her to the car sitting by their apartment. The ride to the Coven was quiet and Donghyuck gripped his jeans tightly, picking at the frayed ends of the ripped material.

Renjun was the only one in the Coven when they arrived and after sparing him one look, the Fairy immediately tugged him into the house. He served them tea in a mug and asked them what happened. Donghyuck cuddled to his side and his mother explained what happened. Renjun nodded at his mother’s proposal to keep Donghyuck in Kun’s Coven until his powers were under control, and got up to send a message to Kun to return home. They waited around and Donghyuck attached himself to Renjun’s side, hot body pressed up against Renjun’s colder body.

“He might heat up even more over the next few days and when his wings arrive, it’ll be painful for him. The wings had to break through a tougher barrier now that he is an adult,” Donghyuck’s mother sighed and ran her fingers through his hair lightly, face scrunched up with worry for her son.

“I’ll take care of him, don’t worry,” Renjun promised, eyes earnest and with love.

Donghyuck’s mother patted his cheek softly, eyes soft and tender as she sipped her tea. Kun returned soon enough with Ten in tow, and exchanged one look with Donghyuck’s mother before he pushed Ten towards Renjun and Donghyuck. He gestured to speak privately with the unicorn spirit as Gale hovered anxiously around them. Kun gave the wind spirit one look and allowed her to join them in the room. They disappeared into his study with a click of the door.

The two of them turned to stare at Ten who just shrugged at him nonchalantly before he flung himself on the couch with a soft “oof”. Renjun took the seat beside his mentor and Donghyuck narrowed his eyes on the Shapeshifter before bouncing right into Ten’s arms with a squeal. Ten gasped and pushed him off before he wagged a warning finger at Donghyuck. Donghyuck beamed at him innocently and Renjun left them to bicker beside him as he helped himself to the jar of cookies that Jeno had clearly forgotten to return to the shelf. The adults returned and Kun announced that they would be welcoming Donghyuck into their Coven for the time being until he worked on his control with Ten.

Ten gave Donghyuck a sly smile and beckoned him over with a curl of his finger. “You and I are going to have fun, without my boyfriend and your boyfriend… this will be excellent.”

Renjun looked at Ten and gave him a low, warning growl which Kun seconded from behind Ten. The Shapeshifter groaned and pouted at Kun, promising he would put Donghyuck’s safety as priority and Sicheng would be joining them in the training. Renjun perked up at Sicheng’s name and Ten gave him an impish smile and wagged his finger at him. Renjun sunk back into the couch, lips jutting out to a pout as he glared holes into the coffee table. He and Sicheng had somehow forged a really nice friendship over the weeks he spent with the zouwu as they scurried around to help awaken Donghyuck’s powers.

Kun returned to the living room with a bright smile as he clapped his hand happily. He announced that they have already prepared a room for Donghyuck to stay in only for the boy to very innocently — Renjun begged to differ, “this was all his plan to room with me!” — asked Kun if he could just share the room with Renjun. Ten gasped and gave Donghyuck a thumbs-up paired with a wink as Kun looked at the Moon Fairy who was blushing hard beside his boyfriend. Sharing another glance with Ten, Kun nodded at the suggestion Donghyuck gave while a smirk crawled on his face and Renjun knew he was fighting a lost cause. Renjun shrieked loudly in protest and Ten had the decency to _giggle_ at his misery.

“Renjunnie, do you not love me?” Donghyuck pouted at Renjun, hands tugging on Renjun’s arms.

Donghyuck’s mother choked on her tea and cookie as Ten hid a smile behind his hand as he gave his boyfriend a thumbs up and a matching grin on his face. Renjun shot them both a death glare as he tried to shrug Donghyuck off his arm. Kun stepped in before he could murder his boyfriend and suggested that they could always try out the whole arrangement before coming to a decision. Renjun nodded and Donghyuck cheered beside him before dragging him to the room. Renjun heard their knowing laughter behind them as Donghyuck tugged him upstairs, hand warm and comforting in his. The door closed behind them and Renjun found himself pressed up the door and Donghyuck’s lips hot on his.

“I missed you, and this,” he whispered hotly against his neck.

“Lee Donghyuck, you— ah, _please_ — are a menace.”

Renjun whimpered, a little ashamed at how fast he came apart under Donghyuck’s kisses. Donghyuck sucked on the exposed skin near his collarbones, grinning against his skin, and licked at the pale, tender skin before he kissed a trail up to his beautiful plump lips. When he licked on Renjun’s lower lip, he opened up to him so easily. Hands coming up to bury themselves in his hair as Donghyuck kept a hand on his jaw, thumb holding on to him, keeping him in place tightly. The other hand had slipped past the shirt and sprayed across Renjun’s stomach, rubbing his skin in a slow, circular movement. He pressed in deeper and slotted a leg between Renjun’s thighs as their bodies flushed closed with each other.

He wouldn’t let Renjun know but Donghyuck swore Renjun tasted so tantalising on his lips — like a drug or something, always leaving him hungry for more. Lucky for him, Renjun always gave in to any requests he may have, no matter how ridiculous or annoying they were. Donghyuck felt Renjun grow pliant beneath him and his kisses, he pulled away just to admire his masterpiece of a breathless, kiss-dazed Renjun. Renjun blushed red, his lips shiny with both their spit combined as he tried to regulate his breaths. Donghyuck swiped his thumb across his glossy lips and pressed their foreheads together.

“I love you so much, darling…”

Renjun blushed even deeper and Donghyuck found it endearing. No matter how many times he had called Renjun an affectionate nickname, he would always be in a fumbling mess and turn so red that he could probably transform into a cherry tomato without an issue. Renjun hid his face into his shoulders and sighed blissfully. Donghyuck doesn’t foresee himself getting kicked out of Renjun’s room for now so he happily unpacked his bags.

Renjun had protested loudly behind him, but his hands were moving to fold Donghyuck’s t-shirts properly. They worked in silence with an occasional hum from one of them and soon Donghyuck’s own clothes took over the spaces in Renjun’s room. He bit his lips and tried not to comment about how just the addition of Donghyuck’s clothes in his room made him feel so much more at home. There was a tinge of Donghyuck-ness that scattered around the room and Renjun felt warmth filling him up at the thought of a home with Donghyuck.

That night they tumbled into bed with kisses hot on their skin.

When Renjun arched into Donghyuck’s tender embrace, he choked out a low “I love you” which was returned with a searing hot kiss on his lips. Renjun whimpered as he bit down on Donghyuck’s shoulder as he came apart under him, shuddering at the sensitivity that wrecked his body. He could just barely register the soft, tender “I love you, too” as Donghyuck relaxed after his own climax. Renjun yawned as he shivered at the damp cloth that was wiping him clean, drifting off to sleep with Donghyuck’s gentle touches on his body.

Ever since Donghyuck had moved in two weeks ago, they would always cuddle to sleep. The cuddles had helped him to control the way he flickered and glowed, and Renjun was proud of his progress. The mediation that Kun forced him to do to control his powers and keep a calm mind helped Donghyuck a lot. The training sessions with Ten were extremely fun when Donghyuck realised that he can manipulate the wind — his wind affinity was the fastest power to be awakened — and spent a good week annoying everyone in their friend group with that. In short, Donghyuck was a fast learner and had picked up things faster than what they had expected him to.

It had also become a routine that every night after showering, Renjun would rub herbal oil into his shoulders and cover his bruises from training with a medicinal paste that Kun had made for him. Their stargazing adventures had increased as they would bring their blankets out to the balcony attached to Renjun’s room and Renjun would pillow his head in Donghyuck’s lap. Renjun would sing a soft Fairy lullaby that his own mother had sung to him before while Donghyuck stroked his hair softly under the blanket of stars.

More often than not, Donghyuck would be lulled to sleep by Renjun’s soothing vocals. Renjun would then carefully rise from his lap and carry him back to their bed. There was comfort in the routine that no matter how, regardless if he had slipped into a deep slumber, Donghyuck knew that he would wake up the next morning, the love of his life sleeping right next to him, holding him tightly in his arms.

Renjun had expected his bruises from all their lovemaking would fade overnight but his skin is just scaring away like his healing abilities had disappeared before Donghyuck. Fairies are, after all, known to be fast healers — right after werewolves, phoenixes, and vampires. Yet the markings that Donghyuck had sucked on his body didn't fade away overnight. Renjun was honestly thankful that it was winter as he sighed and thanked the Moon for that. Winter means he could wear turtlenecks for the rest of the week until the bites that Donghyuck gave him heal up.

If anyone were to ask Renjun how their first time had felt, he didn’t remember much from that night.

He doesn’t quite remember Donghyuck gently cleaning his body up and tucking them in. He doesn’t quite remember the look of love and bliss when Donghyuck bit down on his shoulders with a choked cry as he shot his load into him. Renjun was only pretty sure it was Donghyuck who cleaned up because he had passed out after the thi— Renjun shook his head lightly, feeling his own face heat up when whatever memories that were retained from that night flashed in his mind. He may not remember that night in full but Renjun remembered—

The feeling of their naked bodies rubbing together. How careful and gentle Donghyuck’s slender fingers were inside him, working him apart. How good it felt when Donghyuck’s cock slowly inched inside him, stretching him open nicely. The noises both of them were making whenever Donghyuck had a very well placed thrust into Renjun, rubbing at that spot that made Renjun’s toes curl up in pleasure. The feeling of Donghyuck’s body against him as they held each other while chasing their climaxes.

Renjun shakes his head to chase the thoughts away, face burning a little. It didn’t really matter now, for Renjun remembered every caress that Donghyuck had placed on him every other night. He remembered every thrust he made, he remembered every whimper, snarl or moan he made when he shuddered against Renjun. Renjun shook his head again and felt Donghyuck stirred beside him. Donghyuck blearily opened his eyes and gave Renjun a loving, lopsided smile as he yawned and nuzzled against Renjun’s neck.

“Morning, darling,” he croaked out, breath hot on his skin.

He could get used to this — waking up to Donghyuck’s soft but hoarse voice as he blinked sleepily at Renjun, lips puckered for a kiss. Renjun chuckled fondly and pecked his lips lightly as Donghyuck whined about having to wake up. He felt himself get pulled back into an embrace and Donghyuck threw the covers over their naked bodies again. Renjun pinched Donghyuck’s cheeks lightly before forcing himself to sit up. The blankets pooled around his waist and Renjun swallowed a low whimper when he saw the hungry glint in Donghyuck’s eyes as he raked his sight along his torso.

Renjun placed another peck on his lips and sat up. “Come on, you have to finish the readings so you can catch up on the academics when the term starts.”

“Nooooooo,” Donghyuck wailed dramatically.

Renjun giggled as he leaned down to drag a trail of kisses down to his collarbone and sat up, tugging his sleepy boyfriend up. Donghyuck whined again and Renjun shook his head at the pout that was forming on Donghyuck’s lips. Donghyuck tried another round of pouting but Renjun just pulled him out of bed. They stood at the middle of the room, basking in their own presence as Donghyuck leaned in and kissed Renjun. Hot hands roamed his bare skin as Donghyuck crashed their mouths together, pulling Renjun closer against his body.

Renjun melted into the kiss but quickly pulled away when he felt something poking him near his groin. He swatted at Donghyuck and clicked his tongue in annoyance before he shoved the boy to wash up for breakfast. Renjun made the bed and willed his heart to calm down as his lips remembered the feel of Donghyuck’s lips on him. He busied himself with going through the schedules for today and waited for Donghyuck to be back from the shower. The Sun Fairy returned, properly dressed in a fine pair of ripped jeans, a simple white t-shirt and his wet hair dripping.

Renjun beckoned him over and gently dried his hair with his own fire affinity.

Renjun playing with fire had always been amusing to Donghyuck especially when he found fires licking up Renjun’s palm whenever he got agitated. He also heard the various stories of how powerful Renjun was when the group headed out for missions to save a magical folk or two or a heist to steal from the rich. He wasn’t allowed to join under the pretense that “it’s too dangerous for a human to join and if we had to protect you, the mission will be too dangerous”. It was a driving force to go through whatever training Ten had for him because if his power manifested fast enough, he would be allowed to join them in a heist. For once, all the whining and pouting on Renjun doesn’t work at all and Donghyuck has resigned to his fate.

Kun had patted him sympathetically on the head with a gentle smile. “You’ll know when the time comes, Donghyuck. Patience is a virtue after all.”

Donghyuck pouted at the witch and nodded sadly as Renjun placed fleeting kisses on his cheeks before he left. Right now as he patiently waited for Renjun to be done with his shower, Donghyuck swore he was truly the luckiest Fairy on earth. Renjun was a wonderful addition to his family and now he was armed with the possibility to meet his father again, he really thinks that he has used up all his luck in the world. Renjun returned to a spaced out Donghyuck on the bed as he slipped into a comfortable set of clothes. He had training with Ten in the afternoon as Kun took over the lessons to teach about Fairies history.

They made their way downstairs for breakfast, finding Ten already sitting comfortably at the table. His horns and tail are out in the open as Kun gently caressed the sharp horns. Ten purred at the touch and Kun kissed him lightly on the lips before he went back to the stove. Renjun bit back a smile and sighed happily at the two of them. Their entire social circle have been elated about them getting back together, much so that Sicheng brought forth excellent news that their old friends Dejun and Hendery will be returning to town soon. They made everyone very happy and Doyoung was insistent that they return before his wedding in Autumn. Donghyuck pressed a kiss on his forehead and they entered the kitchen, coughing lightly to inform the two oldest in the Coven of their presence.

“Morning Kun, morning Ten,” Donghyuck greeted cheerily as he helped himself to the stack of pancakes.

Ten narrowed his eyes on Donghyuck slightly, turning to Renjun and then back at the cheerful boy again. He turned to Kun and they exchanged a gaze wordlessly before Kun gave him a slight nod, turning back to the stove. The couple in question had conveniently missed the whole exchange and Ten sipped on his coffee warily. Renjun helped himself to a bowl of cereal and made a mug of latte for Donghyuck as they consumed their meals quietly. The rest of the coven were out today on their own tasks and Taeil had closed his shop in advance, returning home for the festive season.

With Donghyuck's impending manifestation event, Renjun hardly had the time to be in Kun’s Teahouse as his time was taken up by coaching Donghyuck about the Fairies. Not that Kun actually needed his help with running the teahouse. He had Ten’s help and the Shapeshifter was always a charmer with the old ladies as he chatted with them while they spent their afternoons in the Teahouse.

Everything was normal like before the pain pierced Donghyuck out of nowhere.

Donghyuck gasped and his fork clattered to the floor as he doubled over and writhed in pain. Renjun was by his side immediately and Kun immediately turned his stove off, hurrying to their side. Renjun’s hands were shaking as he rubbed Donghyuck’s back gently, his magic reaching out for Donghyuck's own magic. Ten placed a hand around Donghyuck’s clenched fist and turned to Kun, nodding at a silent question directed to him, as Kun muttered a spell and fashioned a parchment and quill out of thin air. He scribbled a message on the paper before folding it into an airplane and sent it off to its recipient with a spell.

“Let’s get him to the library, the pain will unfortunately last awhile and the library is the only room that has a balcony attached to it, and full length windows for maximum sunlight,” Kun said gently, hands patting Donghyuck lightly on his head.

“Renjun?” Kun called when he noticed that he was still frozen beside Donghyuck, effectively snapping him out of his trance.

With combined effort, they carried the whimpering boy into the library and Donghyuck immediately crawled to the spot with the most sunlight. Renjun threw the doors leading to the balcony open and Donghyuck curled up near the ledge, body contorted in pain. Kun held on to Renjun’s hand, shaking his head and tugged him to a corner as he told him what’s happening. Renjun nodded, absorbing everything Kun had to say and his hands clenched beside him. He knew what he had to do, he had discussed it with Kun and Donghyuck’s mother countless times, but when it really happened his mind drew a blank. He turned his gaze back to his boyfriend who was whimpering on the floor and he nodded, a determined glint in his eyes.

He had done his own research on this matter since the Blood Moon and Renjun was certain that he was strong enough to help his boyfriend. The days and months spent in this very space trying to learn about the spell that Donghyuck’s father had casted on him had paid off. Fire coursed through his veins and a crackling of static as Renjun prepared his magic to help Donghyuck. Renjun was prepared and he knew what he must do as he turned to Kun who gave him a reassuring smile. Kun ruffled his hair as he spoke.

“I know what to do, my magic… can help to elevate some of the discomfort and pain he will feel. I’ll stay with him… We’ll require ice and probably Gale, if she can return fast enough, but that’ll do for now.”

Kun nodded at his words, his smile not faltering as Ten rushed in with an ice box. Kun set a spell to keep it chilled and turned on the aircon for the library. They left after exchanging a few more reminders to Renjun, leaving them alone in the library. Renjun removed a few chunks of ice, wrapping them up in a towel and approached Donghyuck slowly. The other Fairy was whimpered as he pressed against the cold floor of the library, trying to calm his own body down.

“My love, can you hear me?” Renjun called out sweetly.

Donghyuck nodded, sweat dripping off his body as he whimpered again, clawing the floor desperately. “It hurts, Renjunnie… it hurts so much,” Donghyuck whined, tears clouding his vision as Renjun rested a cool hand on his back.

“I know, sweetheart… but I need you to be brave, I’ll be here with you.”

Donghyuck whimpered again as another shot of pain whipped through his body, his hands fisted into the carpet. Renjun covered his hand with his own, holding his hands tightly, fingers intertwined with each other. Donghyuck kept his eyes on Renjun and gave him a feeble smile as he collapsed on the floor again. Renjun shifted closer as he pressed the iced towel on his back and Donghyuck sighed at the cooling sensation on his skin, shifting closer. Renjun patted his lap and Donghyuck immediately rested his cheek on his thigh, sighing at the proximity.

(Hello, children.)

“Gale,” Donghyuck croaked and lifted his head slightly to gaze at the wind spirit.

(I left for a week and y’all get into this mess again. I swear, both of you are truly troublemakers.)

“Hello to you too, Gale,” Renjun stuck his tongue out, making the wind spirit laugh at him.

(Now, how can I help with the awakening? How’s his temperature?)

“Not that bad yet, but I’m worried it will rise again.”

(Ice prepared?)

“Obviously.”

(Well, then… we can only wait… I’ll bring food to you both or will Kun be sending food up?)

“Kun.”

(Alright then, carry on with the lovely cuddles. Don’t mind me!)

Renjun chuckled and gently ran his hand down Donghyuck’s back, feeling the tremors rolling off him. Donghyuck whimpered and scratched on his neck uncomfortably as he tugged on his shirt collar. Renjun lifted the damp cloth off his back and left it to the side, as he asked Donghyuck how he was feeling. Donghyuck whimpered as another sharp pain tore through his shoulder and he shuddered against Renjun’s thighs.

Renjun fashioned a dagger in the air and gently cut open Donghyuck’s shirt as Gale helped to blow a puff of cold wind on his hot skin. Donghyuck was burning up in his arms and there was only so much a chunk of ice could help. Perhaps Jisung and his water abilities might help a little in keeping the jug of water cool. But for now, they have to settle for a cold towel and Renjun’s own cooled fingers. Donghyuck sighed when the pain subsided for a moment, relaxing against Renjun’s thighs.

“How are you?”

“Painful, like there’s a knife poking on my shoulder blades.”

Renjun nodded, pressing a hand smoothly on the jutted out bone on his back. Donghyuck moaned at the gentle caress and Renjun quickly packed another chunk of ice in the damp towel and ran it across the glowing parts of his back. Renjun’s magic hummed around them as it slipped into Donghyuck and gently comforted Donghyuck’s own magic. There was another blast of magic leaking out of Donghyuck and Renjun felt like he could smell the sun on Donghyuck as he whimpered again. He placed his gentle, cooling hand on his back and Donghyuck moaned in pain.

“Renjunnie, I need the sun… take me out to the balcony, please…”

Renjun nodded and helped him to his feet as he cried out in pain again, but he visibly relaxed the moment the sun hit his body and he sighed in relief. Renjun stepped out into the balcony and Gale followed with a blanket to rest on the floor as Renjun lowered Donghyuck onto the blanket. He sighed in relief, flopped on the blanket, sighing blissfully as his naked torso stretched out on the blanket. Renjun brushed a hand down the side of his naked torso and Donghyuck let out a pleased shudder at the touch. Donghyuck hummed under his breath, body glistening under the sun from the perspiration he let out a while ago.

Renjun summoned a book from the library and made himself comfortable as he thumbed through the book slowly. They were going to be basking in the sun for a while, he might as well get some reading done. They laid out in the sun quietly as Donghyuck felt his powers simmered and glowed within himself. He could smell the scent of wildflowers on Renjun, masked with a refreshing smell of lemon and mint. It was stronger than before but Donghyuck reckoned it was because he was undergoing the full awakening now.

According to the books he found in Kun’s library about soulmates and scents, it seemed that not only wolves have scents on themselves but anyone who had forged a soulmate bond would recognise their other halves’ scent. They still couldn’t smell others so it felt a lot like a dirty little secret shared between lovers, it arrived with maturity of one's powers. He had wondered what his scent would be when his powers awakened and shivered with excitement from that thought. Renjun had giggled when he gushed about it and promised that he would probably smell gorgeous.

He remembered the first time he smelt wildflowers on Renjun and the happiness that lit up his face. He remembered how he sniffed and nuzzled Renjun’s neck to breathe in more of his scent. He remembered the way Kun and Ten looked when Donghyuck told them about it, Renjun blushing away beside him. He remembered the additional scents he smelt off Renjun as his powers grew with every passing day. The lemon reminded Donghyuck of a delicious slice of lemon cake while mint reminded him of the iced mint tea that Kun makes for everyone when summer rolled by.

The effect of the sun was powerful, nonetheless.

Donghyuck sighed, leaning into Renjun’s touch as he curled up beside him to soak up the powers of the sun. Donghyuck could feel the discomfort and pain from earlier slowly ebbing away as the sunlight caressed his skin gently. He welcomed the heat and warmth from the sun, his magic grabbing at the sunlight that touches his skin, folding it into his core. He felt a lot like a photosynthesizing plant as he basked under the rays. He stretched out again, feeling his sore muscles popped under the stretch, and lounged on the blanket, staring at Renjun reading.

His hand had fallen from the crown of Dongyuck’s head when he became more engrossed in his readings. Donghyuck stopped his movements and just laid on the blankets quietly, staring at his boyfriend as he browsed the book in his hand. The gentle laughter, stiffened to not bother him, coming from the other boy made Donghyuck’s heart swell up and filled him with unspoken emotions of bliss.

The way his face changes with the story he was reading — eyes crinkling at something funny, mouth hung open in surprise, the occasional serene look on his face.

The occasional scrunch of his nose when a speck of dust tickled him.

Donghyuck jolted in surprise when Renjun looked up from his reading and met his eyes.

The fox-like eyes curved into a crescent as he set the book aside carefully and shifted to sit closer to Donghyuck. His hands were gentle on his cheeks as his magic soothingly encased them in a bubble. They looked at each other in silence and Donghyuck reached a hand up to rest on Renjun’s nape, thumb rubbing on the exposed skin beneath his ears. Smiling tenderly at his love, Donghyuck pulled Renjun down to capture his lips with his own.

Lemon but sweet.

Renjun would always taste sweet to Donghyuck, like the morning dew on leaves, like the cream in the strawberry cake that Donghyuck loved insanely from Yuta’s cafe, like water running down parched throat.

Renjun toppled over when Donghyuck snaked a hand around his waist and tugged him down, tongue licking on his lips. Renjun cupped his face lightly, hands gentle on his skin as he kissed back hungrily, his magic howling with pride as Donghyuck licked his way into his mouth, tongue hot on Renjun’s own tongue. His back hits the blanket and Donghyuck cries out in pain, bouncing away and sitting up right away. Renjun’s hands were on his back immediately, gently coaxing his magic to comfort him.

“Idiot,” Renjun muttered, leaning in to kiss along his jaw.

Donghyuck pouted at him and yelped as another wave of sharp pain rocked through his back. He whimpered and Renjun ran his hands down his back, soothing him gently. Renjun rearranged himself and allowed Donghyuck to sprawl across his lap as Renjun ran the cold towel on his back again. Donghyuck moaned at the cooling sensation and giggled when he realised Renjun had turned red at his noises. The latter gave him no chance to tease him as he hit him lightly on the head with the towel.

The door to the library opened a few hours later and their friends walked in cautiously. Renjun waved their friends over to the balcony as they made their way into the library. Jaemin had a picnic basket in his hand as Chenle and Jisung carried over more blankets before the whole group flopped down beside Renjun and Donghyuck. Donghyuck yelped a little, remembering his state of undress but his friends just ignored the fact that he was sprawled across Renjun’s lap topless.

He then noticed an auburn brown wolf joining their circle, head nestled between his paws as a five-tailed white fox laid on top of him, the fox head comfortably resting on the wolf’s head. “It’s Sungchan and Shotaro in their alternate forms,” Jaemin replied to the question that Donghyuck wanted to ask.

“And Yuta sent his regards to you with sandwiches and drinks so we’re going to have a picnic here,” Jeno continued on, hands moving to bring out bottles of sealed coffee and other drinks as well as food from Yuta’s cafe.

Sungchan licked his hand once and gave him a lopsided grin as Shotaro barked once at him in greeting. Donghyuck reached over and ran his hand through the wolf’s coarse fur and Shotaro’s silky fur. Chenle had shifted to sit beside Renjun, his translucent form flickering as Jisung flicked bread crumbs at him, stopping only when Jaemin barked at him to cut it out and stop wasting food. They had quietened down beside Renjun, sporting similar pouts on their faces. Donghyuck took a sip of the iced cold coffee gratefully as Renjun grabbed a sandwich to bite down, his free hand in Donghyuck’s hair.

After shoving half a dozen of sandwiches down his throat, Donghyuck burped lightly and sighed happily as he curled up against Renjun’s thighs. Renjun’s hand immediately went to pat his head, fingers running through his hair gently. Flowers sprouted from Renjun’s hands as he slowly weaved in the little wildflowers into Donghyuck’s slightly long hair, forming a short waterfall braid across the back of his head. Donghyuck sighed happily, head pillowed in Renjun’s lap and purred a little. Their friends giggled at his actions and Renjun just dotingly continued his patting.

Suddenly, Donghyuck convulsed and let out a shrill shriek as he gasped and clawed on the blanket painfully.

His back arched and he whimpered, thrashing against the floor as the two humps on his back shone brightly. Renjun gasped and reached out a cautious hand on Donghyuck as he whimpered and pushed his back against the pain. The two humps shone brightly, almost blinding everyone as they looked away and shield their eyes from the glare. Donghyuck whimpered again, heaving against the blankets as Gale hovered closely around him anxiously. Pain ripped across Donghyuck and he screamed, clutching on to his arms, and thrashed against the pain. His fingers marking his arms, leaving red, angry marks all over his arms where he clawed at.

Renjun whimpered at the pain, feeling it all together when Donghyuck’s magic whipped itself out and reached for him. He urged his magic to hold onto Donghyuck’s own powers and tried to calm the other boy down as he whimpered, moaning into the blankets, begging to stop the pain. Jaemin rubbed a comforting hand down his arm as Renjun wailed at the pain he was experiencing, trying to suck most of the pain to himself. Sungchan whimpered by Renjun’s feet, clearly distressed that his friend was in pain. Renjun ran a hand down his back soothingly as Shotaro nipped on his ears gently.

Donghyuck let out another wail of pain, twitching on the blankets as he whimpered, tears streaming down his face. Renjun bit into his arm, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to tune out the pained whimpers from his boyfriend, his magic cascading off him in waves. He channelled his magic to Donghyuck and gently soothed his back, sniffing a little as he whimpered quietly into his arm. Jaemin tightened his hold on Renjun as he tried to calm the Fairy down, sensing the distress rolling off both of them in huge amounts. Donghyuck whimpered again, opening his eyes to meet Renjun’s own eyes, and he gave him a tiny, reassuring smile.

Then comes silence as Donghyuck fell forward limply into the blankets, eyes closed.

And then, Renjun screamed.

——————————————

Donghyuck opened his eyes and blinked. He doesn’t recognise the surroundings at all. He reached out to the darkness and suddenly a flare of brightness in the dark as a ball of fire — the elusive ignis fatuus or more commonly known as the will-o'-wisp — floated in front of him. Donghyuck blinked and followed its movement slowly before the ball of fire floated away from him, bobbing in the distance.

_**You want me to follow you?** _

The will-o'-wisp bobbed a little in the air and Donghyuck scrambled to follow after it. He tumbled and tripped a little as he hurried after the will-o'-wisp as carefully as he could.

_**Alright then, wait for me! I really can’t see very well in the darkness.** _

Donghyuck emerged into a brightly lit room where the will-o'-wisp floated around.

“Hello, Donghyuck. Please don’t be scared… you fainted from the pain and I decided to step in and help you a little.”

_**At least tell me who are you?** _

“I’m your magic, silly boy.”

_**What? My magic? No way!** _

“It’s true, we are currently in your mind but this is also happening outside your mind.”

_**What?** _

“It’s complicated but don’t worry you’ll understand it soon enough. But first, your father casted a really powerful old spell on you, that will be very difficult to break. Your boyfriend is truly very strong if he could break through the first layers by just being close to you.”

_**Are you talking about Renjun?** _

The voice laughed and Donghyuck flushed red. There were comfortable pillows and blankets with more food and beverages laid out before him. Donghyuck figured that this might take a long while and he threw himself on this pillow pile swiftly. He took the cuddliest pillow and cuddled it tightly as he waited for his powers to speak to him again.

“What do you know about Huang Renjun?”

_**That he is beautiful, crazily gorgeous and extremely talented? And he has the prettiest voice, the most adorable face whenever I make him upset, he has the cutest little nose scrunching action whenever he is stumped by a task, or that he made the cutest sounds when I moved my hips in a certain way that—** _

"It's cute and all that you're waxing poems about your boyfriend but no, I meant to say like his birth rights and everything."

_**Oh, that… No… I don’t know anything...** _

The will-o'-wisp chuckled at his response as Donghyuck flushed even redder. There was a light touch on the back of his hand and Donghyuck felt his own magic caressed him gently.

“Well, simply put… you and Renjun are soulmates. That’s why the whole process of your powers manifestation was sped up. If we are lucky, you’ll awaken your powers before the solar eclipse and it’ll make things a lot easier!”

 _ **I don’t understand!**_?

“You will understand soon enough, my child.”

_**Does he know that I’m his soulmate?** _

“Pretty sure, by the way he acts with you and the way his magic reaches out to me, he does.”

Donghyuck growled at the fact that Renjun hid their soulmate's truth from him, and pouted at his magic, before shaking his head and refocused on his task. Renjun must’ve hid the fact that they were soulmates for a reason, he will not question Renjun about it. Donghyuck turned his focus back on the will-o’-wisp and nodded for him to continue. He heard a low hum from his magic as it danced around him.

“For now, let me impart you with a skill to help you deal with the pain from the wings. You’ll find this greatly useful for anything you face in the future.”

——————

Donghyuck woke up with a loud wheeze and was immediately engulfed into a tight hug by Renjun who buried his face in his back, nose nuzzling on the bare skin.

“You’re back, you returned to me…” Renjun sobbed and sniffed at his skin, lips trembling as he tried to control his emotions.

Donghyuck held him back and he realised that the sky had already darkened. He looked at Renjun who had his wings out and his hand cupping his cheeks tenderly. Donghyuck held on to him tightly, hands strong on his waist and he pulled Renjun close to his own warm body. Donghyuck pressed his nose to the base of Renjun’s throat, breathing in the lovely, homely scent of wildflowers, lemon, and mint.

His soulmate, his lovely starlight, his Renjun was right here with him.

Donghyuck pressed their foreheads together and he felt that magic hummed in synchronised beats around them. He gently pressed their lips together in a light chaste kiss as he pulled away to look at Renjun properly.

“Have I told you that I love you?” Donghyuck asked, eyes sparkling with mirth as Renjun chuckled at his question.

Renjun shook his head lightly, eyes reflecting that playfulness that Donghyuck fell in love with as he pressed another kiss on his lips.

“Well, now I’m telling you that I love you and I’ll love you until the Sun has extinguished.”

Renjun sniffed a little, his nose wrinkled cutely as he rested a finger on Donghyuck’s lips shushing him effectively. Donghyuck gasped when he saw the emotions reflected in his eyes as he leaned in and kissed his pout away. Renjun seemed to have caught on that he knew of their soulmates' nature because he didn’t say a word. He just pressed fleeting kisses on Donghyuck’s face tracing his moles with his lips, and ended the travels with a light fleeting kiss on his lips.

“I love you too, idiot.”

Donghyuck beamed and he watched Renjun glow under the moonlight as Donghyuck registered the thundering footsteps of his friends as they made their way back into the library. The surprised shrieks he heard from Yangyang as he piled into them both and beamed at Renjun. Before he could say a word, Jaemin smacked Yangyang on the head and brought a food tray towards them. Donghyuck’s stomach growled and the watch on his wrist said that it was almost 9 pm which meant that he had knocked out for over six hours. Donghyuck turned to Renjun guiltily and his boyfriend cupped his cheeks lightly, shaking his head.

_**All is forgiven, my love. You’re alright now, aren’t you?** _

**_But I made you worried._ **

**_Oh please, darling… I would always worry about you._ **

Donghyuck sniffed and leaned into Renjun’s hug, resting his cheeks on his shoulders. No wonder he was so worried when he finally woke up. Donghyuck couldn’t even imagine the fear and terror Renjun must’ve felt while he was happily chit-chatting with his powers within himself. He felt the presence of Gale as she gently blew on his hair a little, a small breeze picked up around them. Renjun kissed the top of his head and pushed him off as Jaemin handed Renjun their dinner — a bowl of creamy mushroom soup, a plate of perfectly grilled pork with a glazed sauce that smelt wonderful and a bowl of white rice.

Donghyuck swallowed and his stomach growled in response to the wonderful aroma from the god that was wafting into his nose. Renjun handed him a bowl of rice and picked a piece of meat into his bowl, eyes crinkling into a smile. Renjun picked at his bowl as he watched Donghyuck shoving food into his mouth quickly, engulfing the food like it was air. Their friends laughed good naturedly at his appetite and excused themselves to grab more food, leaving them alone. Donghyuck gazed at Renjun’s wings longingly and Renjun stroked his cheeks gently, fingers lingering at his jaw.

“You’ll get yours soon, I can feel it,” Renjun promised and Donghyuck relaxed against him.

Donghyuck beamed at him, eyes shifting to a bright golden color and Renjun gasped. He hadn’t expected the color shift to happen before the wings came but Renjun wasn’t one to complain. It just meant that perhaps with actual control over his powers, the wings might have an easier time to burst out. Donghyuck smiled wider and nodded at a silent question passing through his eyes. Renjun squealed, forgoing the dinner they were supposed to have, to fling himself on Donghyuck hugging him tightly. His face buried in his neck and Donghyuck held him tightly on the waist, nuzzling his neck in return.

When Renjun pulled back, his own eyes flashed silver and Donghyuck gently stroked a finger down Renjun’s neck, and his own eyes flashed gold again. Renjun kissed the corner of his eyes and sighed, thumb stroking on his cheek, the love was evident in his own silvery eyes. Donghyuck surged forward again, his lips pressed against Renjun’s own, using the surprise to tilt Renjun’s head as he pressed even closer to him.

Their lips slotted against each other while Renjun’s hand gripped his hair painfully, tugging his head backwards as he bit and kissed his way down the column of his neck, murmuring praises of love and adoration. When they finally pulled away, hands in hands, their eyes returned to their original shade but there were specks of gold and silver around the iris. There was a crackle in the air as a spiral of fire licked up their hands and burnt a mark on their respective ring finger on their left hand.

An identical circlet of marking on their fingers as Renjun chuckled quietly under his breath.

Donghyuck pressed a kiss to his forehead and their friends returned with another mountain pile of food. Yangyang was the one who noticed the changes in their eyes, his own eyes flashed red before he turned a sharp look at Renjun. Donghyuck watched them communicate silently and Yangyang gave him a bright smile, leaning over to clap Donghyuck’s shoulders as he giggled out a loud “congrats” to them. Their friends caught on to the changes and Jaemin dramatically brawled about how they are all growing up and Jeno wrinkled his nose in disgust at his boyfriend’s theatrics.

“You’re supposed to comfort me,” Jaemin sniffed and turned to Jeno who pointedly pushed his pouting face away.

Jeno flicked his forehead lightly, smiling at the pout that Jaemin sent his way. “I would if it wasn’t fake, love.”

Yangyang gagged at the pet name and Sungchan bumped his head in Donghyuck’s lap, resting his head there as he gave a low whine. Donghyuck ran his hand through the coarse fur and Shotaro made himself comfortable on his back. Jeno took out a bottle of firewhiskey, Yangyang gasped in horror that Jeno found his secret stash, and they toasted to the little milestones they have reached on Donghyuck’s awakening journey. Jisung muttered darkly under his breath about being tricked and having to drink grape juice as Chenle soothed his soul quietly. Renjun cautioned Donghyuck on his drinking with a look and offered a piece of grilled pork to him instead. Donghyuck pouted at the meat but obediently placed his glass down to bite on the food Renjun held by his lips and allowed his boyfriend to feed him.

He thought he had perhaps found a home with these people.

——————————————

It took two days of searing pain before Donghyuck’s wings finally burst through his shoulders.

The moment was unplanned as Donghyuck rested on his stomach, browsing through Netflix with Renjun by his side. Renjun’s hands were kneading on his back, massaging the taut muscles gently when the two lumps flashed golden and Donghyuck whimpered against the carpet. Donghyuck gasped out, feeling the familiar sensation and willed himself to calm down, as he wrapped his magic around Renjun’s wrists, turning to him to give him a tentative smile. Renjun seemed to understand and quickly scooted over to snatch the laptop away as Donghyuck twisted on the floor, wailing into the blankets.

His magic howled within him, pouring out and flooding the room as he pulled the sun rays onto himself. He felt his body harnessing the powers from the sunlight as he glowed faintly where he was laying on the carpet. He heard Renjun rasped out a breathless exclamation as he took deep breaths to calm his own magic as it whipped around his body, encasing him into a glowing ball of light. Renjun backed away to the corner of the room and Donghyuck vaguely registered a low “good luck” from Gale before she was gone from the room.

Donghyuck lifted himself to kneel on his knees, hands clutched on the carpet tightly as more light flashed from his back. He threw his head back and arched his body forward as he growled at the pain. Donghyuck almost burst into laughter as he remembered what his powers had told him — _“It feels like you’re constipated when your wings are bursting out of your shoulders. Since, you know… in both issues, it’s not coming out?” his magic giggled and ruffled his hair, “but you’ll get a hold of it, once you feel the wings are poking your skin, gather the powers and go straight for it.”_

Another wave of pain rippled through him. He gasped and then he _felt_ the feeling his magic had warned him of as he gathered whatever powers he had awakened into the spots near his shoulders. He pushed against the skin and felt the wings fluttering lightly within him, and he gasped into the carpet, falling face forward onto the plush cushion that Renjun had pushed under his head.

He hadn’t even realised that Renjun had approached him and he held on to his lover’s hands, feeling the light squeeze he gave.

Donghyuck snarled into the pillow as he collected his powers into the same spot again, this time moulding the magic into a sharp scalpel and he felt the magic pierce his skin. He whimpered, biting down hard on the pillow as he felt Renjun ran a soothing caress in his hair. He thrashed around a little more, his back arching off the floor as he felt the moment in his blood and magic as he stabbed his magic out of his back. He felt his wings leaving their confined space through the makeshift hole and flared out behind him.

Donghyuck knew it must’ve worked because Renjun gave out a tiny squeal at the sight of his wings bursting out of his shoulders.

Golden with black streaks of veins.

The room flooded with a scent of lavender, cedarwood and thyme.

Donghyuck heard a sharp intake of breath from Renjun when he breathed in his scent and he fell onto the blanket beside him. Renjun kissed him on the forehead and murmured against his damp hair that he did wonderfully. Donghyuck giggled and rested on his front, blinking sleepily at Renjun as he yawned and tried not to roll over, crushing his wings. Their scents mixed in the air and Donghyuck finds comfort that they smelt wonderful together. Renjun giggled at his thoughts and kissed against his hairline again.

_**We kind of smell like a whole feast, I’m not complaining though.** _

**_You’ve always smelt mouthwatering though, Renjun._ **

**_S-shut up._ **

Donghyuck slumped on the floor, his ragged breathing calming down, and his wings hung limply beside him. He panicked for a second, thinking he did something wrong during this time and they weren't working. Picking up his distress easily, Renjun dropped a kiss on his forehead and muttered against his hair that he did excellent. He turned to look at Renjun tiredly and Renjun ran a hand to brush the sweat soaked strands of hair off his face. He watched Renjun pluck a letter out of the air and pursed his lips to whistle for something.

There was a rustle of feathered wings and a burst of red flew in as a chestnut brown bird flew in from the opened balcony.

Donghyuck blinked sleepily as the bird, a Fox Kestrel falcon Donghyuck recognised from one of the many books Kun had in his libraries, landed on Renjun’s knee with a soft chirp. The falcon nipped on Renjun’s fingers lightly as he turned a beady eye on Donghyuck, head tilting slightly as he stared into Donghyuck’s eyes. Renjun retrieved a string and whistled again to get the falcon to raise a talon for him to secure the letter on his leg. The falcon was really obedient and he hobbled on a leg, still keeping a keen eye on Donghyuck. Donghyuck pouted at the bird and Renjun gently lifted the falcon from his knee, whispering something to him. The falcon gave another cry and took off into the sky.

“Who’s that?” Donghyuck asked sleepily.

“That’s your father’s gift to me but before we go into that, get up, darling. Let’s move to the balcony,” Renjun giggled, hands careful on his back as he helped Donghyuck up to his knees. “Fairies’ wings are like that of the butterfly, we need to pump magic and soul into them when they first appear, the Sun will give you enough energy for that.”

Donghyuck nodded, feeling his own energy seep back into himself as Renjun helped him to his feet and they went into the balcony. Renjun fed him cold berries as he basked in the sun and felt his wings fluttering behind him. It wasn’t long before the Fox Kestrel returned and pecked on the berries, turning its beady eye on Donghyuck haughtily. Donghyuck tilted his head and stared back at the bird who had an unimpressed look on his face. Renjun ran a finger down his head and the Fox Kestrel chirped at him, stealing another berry from the bowl.

“His name is Ursa.” Renjun told him softly, eyes lighting up as he reached a hand to poke one of Donghyuck’s moles. “I named him after the constellation on your cheek, do you like it?”

Donghyuck nodded as he stole a berry and held out his hand out to Ursa who regarded him quietly for a moment before he took the berry out of Donghyuck’s palm and creaked at him softly. Donghyuck’s face lit up happily and turned to Renjun excitedly that Ursa didn't hate him, making Renjun’s eyes lit up with mirth. He rolled his eyes and muttered a low “Of course he doesn’t, I wouldn’t let him” under his breath. Donghyuck beamed and mimicked Renjun movement in stroking the falcon on his head. The falcon cooed at him before stealing another berry and taking flight into the distance.

Donghyuck felt a thrilling shiver down his back as he felt his wings beat strongly behind him. He flexed the wings lightly, feeling the magic and power coursing through the veins on the wings as he tried them out carefully. Renjun gently coached him on maneuvering the wings — how to open and close them, move them enough to fly, the mechanics of starting to fly. Renjun held out a hand for him to take as Donghyuck started to lift off the ground after a few tries, yelping in surprise. He stilled the movement slowly as he returned to the ground and turned to the other Fairy with a look of exhilaration from the sensation of having _wings_ behind his back.

He tried opening and closing the wings and excitedly twirled around to show-off his wings to his lover. Donghyuck was elated because this means that Ten can finally start on his flying lessons and he can _fly_ with Renjun whenever he wants to — _no more waiting for Renjun on the ground_. Renjun laughed at his antics dotingly and released his own wings behind him too. Renjun’s wings had undergone a change after the blood moon. The once pure silver wings were now lined with blood red veins, mapping out a highly intricate pattern behind Renjun. It’s beautiful but in all honesty, Donghyuck was rather biased when it comes to anything Renjun.

Donghyuck felt his own breath catch in his chest as he took one step closer to Renjun, his own wings gave away his erratic heartbeat as they bristled behind him. Renjun chuckled amusedly as his magic reached out for Donghyuck and calmed his nerves gently. Renjun’s own wings fluttered prettily behind him while he took one step towards Donghyuck. They met in the middle and Donghyuck brushed his knuckles at Renjun’s cheeks and laid slightly below his jaw, tilting his head up a little as he pressed in for a kiss. Wordlessly, Renjun melted into the kiss as his hands clasped behind Donghyuck’s nape, pressing back eagerly into the kiss.

Mouth on mouth, the push and pull of their magic, the way their lips _fit_ with each other.

They pulled away breathless and Renjun kissed his moles lightly, coming to a stop at the base of his neck. His cold nose nuzzled his neck lightly before he pressed another kiss behind Donghyuck’s ear. Donghyuck held him close, hand warm on his waist as they basked in the sunlight and in their magic that was melting into each other. They stayed like that for a while, eyes closed with their bodies swaying to their own heartbeats and a tune only they know. Donghyuck pressed another soft kiss on Renjun’s nape before they pulled away. Love reflected in their eyes as they heard the front door open and the loud chattering from their friends returning home.

“Let’s go show off your wings to the others.” Renjun chuckled and tugged him back into the house.

Their wings fluttering behind them, scattering fairy dust in shades of gold and silver.

——————————————

It’s the seventy-sixth day of his flying training with Ten.

Donghyuck had no idea why Ten was training him like he was supposed to be the representative of their Coven to the Olympics, if there was one. Donghyuck survived the solar eclipse just barely a month ago with bare minimal scratches and pain. In fact, he came out unscathed enough that his own mother nearly sent their own court physician on him to check if he was alright. Renjun had been by his side throughout the whole 24 hours of the solar eclipse and well, Renjun was a brilliant distraction.

Sure, it was painful because of the side effects on him but Donghyuck swore he was probably immune to the pain after undergoing both Renjun’s Blood Moon ritual and his wings awakening.

Plus, Renjun was _really good at distracting him_ with his lips and put his hands to good use during the whole time. But that’s a story that Donghyuck won’t tell anyone, a secret kept between the two lovers, locked securely within the depth of his mind.

Donghyuck whined against the makeshift pillow fort as Yangyang whipped past him in the sky again, dropping down to the space beside his. Renjun followed after and shook his head at the whine that was making its way up Donghyuck's throat. Kun shifted back into his human form and summoned a jar of cookies into his arms. Donghyuck swore he hadn’t seen Ten move so quickly as the Shapeshifter immediately latched himself on Kun, eyes begging for a cookie. Yangyang screeched from above them — that smug ass probably went for another round as they waited for Renjun to return — and shifted in front of Kun while he landed.

Kun sighed at his antics and gave him _two_ cookies, much to both Ten and Donghyuck’s dismay, but Kun had always been biased toward the young phoenix and Chenle. Yangyang bit into the cookie with a low grunt and threw himself into a chair. Ten had forced them to lap the perimeters of the town and Donghyuck had never realised just how huge the town was. Kun fend off Ten who was very persistent on being a leech by his side and offered him the cookie jar. Donghyuck helped himself to the handful of cookies — only because no one is in their right minds to NOT take Kun’s freshly baked cookies when offered one — just as Renjun sinks into the pillow beside him, eyes closing as he yawned tiredly.

Renjun had just returned from his trip to the Arctic with Sicheng after a trip home. Donghyuck hadn’t seen him for almost half a month and when he did see him, Renjun looked like he was about to drop dead on the ground. Donghyuck instinctively reached a hand and brushed Renjun’s nape as he hummed in his mind, helping to lull his boyfriend to sleep. Renjun let out a soft mewl at the touch, sinking deeper into the cushions as he leaned into Donghyuck’s touch unconsciously. Kun chuckled at the scene before him as he made himself comfortable against Ten.

“Darling, you need to eat something.”

Renjun blinked at him and nodded, eyes still closed but his mouth hung open, waiting for Donghyuck to feed him the cookie. Donghyuck sighed blissfully, laying down with him as he broke the cookie into a smaller, biteable size and fed Renjun carefully. Kun hovered two glasses of cold-pressed orange juice towards them which Donghyuck received gratefully. He gently helped Renjun to sip some as the Fairy was still curled up tiredly beside him. They finished the cookies quickly and Donghyuck brushed crumbs off the corner of Renjun’s lips.

Sneaking a look to their audience, Donghyuck leaned down to lick the chocolate sauce off Renjun lips, earning a jab on his side. Renjun flashed him a warning look and summoned some tissues to wipe his mouth before wiping Donghyuck’s mouth with a clean piece. Fire flared up in Renjun’s hands, incinerating the used tissues into ashes, and Renjun tugged Donghyuck down to rest with him on the pillow pile. Renjun nestled his head onto his shoulder, a handful of pillows and sighed happily. Donghyuck hummed quietly under his breath as he shifted slightly to accommodate Renjun’s weight more comfortably.

As Donghyuck closed his eyes, he was reminded of how Renjun had told him of his birth rights and how he was supposedly the next-in-line to the Sun Fairies throne. It sounded so ridiculous to Donghyuck that if Renjun hadn’t shown him a letter from his father and a promise that they would visit soon. Donghyuck thought of the crown hidden in the depths of his cupboard and sighed. He had yet to wrap his mind around the fact that _Renjun was a prince_ and he was one himself as well.

——————

After his awakening and the whole solar eclipse matter, Renjun had sat him down quietly one evening. He set up a whole intricate muffling spell and turned to Donghyuck, biting on his lips unsurely. Donghyuck stretched a hand out and ran his thumb up the back of Renjun’s hands as he gave him a light squeeze. Renjun closed his eyes and took deep breaths, only opening them after a while as he summoned a brown leather satchel. He carefully opened the satchel and gently eased the contents out. Donghyuck held his breath as Renjun unwrapped the hidden content slowly.

A silver crown. Studded with aquamarine gems. It sparkled under the light and Donghyuck gazed at it mesmerisingly.

Donghyuck released a shaky breath and looked at it in awe, before he snapped his head back to meet Renjun’s expectant eyes. Renjun gave him a tiny smile and gently placed the crown on his own head, carefully arranging it to sit on his head. Donghyuck gaped at him as his eyes darted between the crown and Renjun as he stepped closer. His breath caught in his lungs as he took in the sight before him as a smile cracked across his features, hand reaching out to cup Renjun’s jaw. He sunk to his knees and rested a hand on Renjun’s knees as he looked up to Renjun’s smiling face.

“You’re… a prince?”

Renjun nodded at the statement, hands soft against Donghyuck’s jaw as he leaned forward to kiss his forehead. He summoned a box this time and gulped, before he repeated the same steps he did previously. He unlocked the box with a key which he handed to Donghyuck — “it’s yours, I’m merely safekeeping it for you,” Renjun explained softly — and took out a similar object from the box. Donghyuck scrambled to help him remove the box as Renjun handed the clothed object. Donghyuck took it with shaky fingers and almost gasped when he felt the object and looked up to Renjun. Renjun gave him an encouraging nod and Donghyuck slipped the cloth away to reveal—

A silver crown but lined with pearls and a middle gem that looked like it was glittering in different shades. Alexandrite. It’s a rare gem and to find such a beautiful piece, it was even rarer.

Renjun smiled at him as Donghyuck looked at the crown that was sitting in his lap mutely. When he realised that Donghyuck wasn’t going to move, he quietly eased the crown from Donghyuck’s hands and deftly wore it on his head. Renjun slid off the chair he was on and kneel in front of Donghyuck as he took his hands into his lap. Donghyuck blinked and shot a hand up to grasp the crown as he stared at Renjun.

“Say something, Donghyuck.”

“I—”

Renjun sighed, knowing that he was probably in shock, and let his magic reach out to calm Donghyuck down. It seemed to work because Donghyuck heaved a breath and his hands shook in Renjun’s as he tried to regulate his breathing. Renjun knew it wasn’t going to be easy to explain or even understand the whole birth rights. His mother had left out this particular information about his father being King when she told him during the Blood Moon awakening. Renjun understood why she had not told him then but he wasn’t expecting her to pass his crown to him.

“Are you asking me to marry you?” Donghyuck blurted out, looking at Renjun happily.

Renjun blinked, “No? I’m trying to tell you about your birth rights!”

There was silence. Then, “Oh?”

Renjun chuckled at his crestfallen expression and leaned in to kiss him lightly before he sat back on the floor. Donghyuck pouted at him and Renjun gently took his hands between his, smiling at him.

“Are you ready to hear what you really are?”

–––––––––––

Ten’s order sliced through Donghyuck’s hazy sleep-induced brain. He yelped and was hushed by Renjun in his arms as he blinked confusedly at the grinning Shapeshifter. Donghyuck was grateful that Kun was here today because that meant that Ten would not put them through drills that were too hard. He was still trying to impress Kun with his own ways but the three of them knew that Kun wouldn’t fall for his tricks. Nonetheless, they were still grateful when Kun came around more often with food and drinks.

Renjun mumbled incoherently beside him as he ran a hand through his hair gently, breathing in the intoxicating scent he was emitting. Donghyuck was really thankful that you can only smell your soulmate’s scent because he really wasn’t keen on letting anyone smell Renjun. Jealousy was an ugly feeling as it reared its head within Donghyuck at the mere thought of someone smelling Renjun’s minty scent. Ten purred under Kun’s touches as he fixed a glare on Donghyuck, barking an order at him to take flight with Yangyang again.

“Tennie,” Kun cautioned and Ten pouted at him.

Donghyuck heard Yangyang made a soft noise of protest about how nice the weather was and laughed quietly under his breath, holding Renjun closer to him. The small Fairy curled up against him, fast asleep already, and Donghyuck looked up to a sleepy Ten curled up beside Kun. Yangyang gave a small cheer as Kun rubbed the Shapeshifter’s neck lightly and found himself a lapful of Ten who had changed himself into a tiger cub. Yangyang had shifted into his phoenix form and flown up to the trees to nap in the nest he had built for himself. Donghyuck nestled closer to Renjun, sniffing his scent lightly, before he caught Kun’s curious gaze.

——————————————

“Do any of you smell something cinnamon? Is anyone baking right now?” Kun hopped off the stairs, looking around the room.

Dejun looked at him and shook his head as Hendery yelled “no, of course not!” from the backyard. Kun frowned and shrugged, moving to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. It could be the lack of sleep or the tingling sensation from the phoenix blood coursing within himself. Then he smelt it again. A waft of mouth watering cinnamon and now with a tinge of spices floating around his space. He flinched when the door threw open and Sicheng walked in, tilting his head at the expression on Kun’s face.

“You alright?” Sicheng asked, cautious as his eyes darted across the room, looking out for a threat.

Kun shook his head before nodding again. “I think I need to speak to my mentor about this.”

Sicheng gave him a light squeeze and nodded, turning to pour a generous amount of milk in his mug before throwing the mug into the microwave to heat it up. He left after a while, a mug of warm milk in his hands, and Kun was left alone with his thoughts in the kitchen. Kun shivered a little before he padded back into the library and drew a small summoning circle on the floor. He chanted a spell and then a pile of books flew from his book shelves and landed on the circle gently.

Then he started reading.

–––––––––––

Kun was nervous when he sat in Yuta’s cafe, a mug of coffee in his hands, as he trembled in both excitement and fear. This was an outrageous idea but he had spoken to his mentor and his girlfriend and they had both agreed that this was the only way he could test it out. Yuta had already looked over a few times, clearly affected by his aura of excitement and anxiety, and Kun took deep breaths to calm himself down. The bell on the cafe’s door twinkled and the person Kun was waiting for was standing there.

Cinnamon. Tangerine. Spices. _Oh no, it can’t be true._

Kun swallowed an invisible lump and his eyes averted to his toes, breathing deeply to calm himself down. His best friend, Ten, a shapeshifter walked to the counter and spoke briefly with Yuta before making his way to Kun’s table with his order. He sat down opposite Kun and smiled, sharp tooth and all, resting his chin on his palm. They started a staring match for a while, neither of them were willing to speak.

“So,” Ten broke the silence, turning his eyes down to his coffee, brought it up to his lips and took a tentative sip. “What’s up, Kunnie?”

Kun swallowed another imaginary lump and shook his head lightly. His head had been spinning since Ten walked in smelling all cinnamon and tangerine. Ten sniffed the air a little, turning to face Kun sharply and grabbed his cheeks between his own hands. He sniffed along Kun’s jawline, making Kun yelped a little, before he buried his nose into Kun’s neck, chuckling softly. Kun was glad that they were at a corner of the cafe because Ten was kissing his neck indecently and Kun couldn’t find it within him to stop him.

“You smell lovely, my gorgeous dumb witch,” Ten sighed, lips pressed against his neck.

“What?” Kun choked out. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew, Kun please. I could smell you since months ago you stupid witch.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, my dumb darling soulmate. You smell of apples, cloves and vanilla,” Ten made an exasperated noise and Kun broke into a smile.

He watched a similar one mirrored his on Ten’s face. Ten pressed his lips on his again, hand rested above Kun’s hand. Their fingers intertwined as Ten’s shadows leaked all over them when he made himself comfortable on Kun’s lap. Kun whined softly when Ten’s own magic coursed through him as relief, love and happiness flooded them in the little cocoon that Ten had encapsulated them in.

“I’m glad the universe had decided to give you to me, Kun.”

——————————————

Kun shook his head at the memory and tilted his head a little at the younger man. He glanced down at Ten who was pressed up warmly by his side and shook his head light, pressing a finger to his lips. Donghyuck nodded and returned to cuddling Renjun. They slept the entire afternoon away much to Ten’s dismay but the soft look on Ten’s face when he woke up against Kun’s sturdy chest, was pretty much worth the drill Donghyuck was placed through for the next two days.

That night when he crawled under the sheets to Renjun, he knew he found somewhere he had belonged to. With Renjun’s scent in his nose, he fell asleep immediately to the soothing voice of Renjun as he sang them to slumber.

Neither of them realised that Ursa had returned.

An unopened letter sat neatly on Renjun’s desk, a familiar wax seal on its back.

The royal seal of the Moon Courts. Renjun’s parents.

Morning came normally as Renjun slowly rose to a kiss on his neck, then his cheeks before the pair of plush, warm lips met him. He opened his eyes sleepily, hands brushing away the stray strands on Donghyuck’s face as he mumbled a low good morning. He would spend time cuddling away with his boyfriend even if it meant that he won’t be getting anything done today. Donghyuck was warm against his body and Renjun really couldn’t find it within himself to shift away from him. He felt the wandering fingers of his lover caress every inch of his body, whimpering at the fleeting touches as he felt something hard pressed up his hip.

“Donghyuck…” Renjun chided as Donghyuck smirked down at him.

“Liked what’s pressing up your hips?”

Renjun chuckled and leaned forward to kiss him thoroughly, breathing in the scent of his boyfriend. Kissing Donghyuck was a joy and an adventure for he was always full of surprises with every lick he placed on Renjun. Euphoria flooded Renjun’s senses as he gripped onto Donghyuck’s hair, moaning breathlessly when Donghyuck slipped a hand into his sweatpants. Leaving the blankets on Renjun, Donghyuck gently stroked his other hand down his chest, rubbing excruciating slow designs on his bare skin. He mouthed near the tent in Renjun’s sweatpants and Renjun _whined_ at the touch as he gripped on the blankets tightly.

His mind went into a daze when Donghyuck pulled his pants down along with his underwear, mouth hot on his cock, and a wet tongue licked up on his underside. His cock was trapped in a delicious wet heat and Donghyuck had the decency to _hum under his breath_ before taking him deeply. His fingers dug into Renjun’s thighs and Renjun mewled at the sensation, hips bucking up a little.

“God, Donghyuck…” Renjun whimpered when Donghyuck pulled up with a wet pop.

He was about to shove a finger into his heat when the doorbell rang. They froze in bed. Renjun stilled his breathing as Donghyuck’s eyes rounded with panic. They heard Kun’s reply as he thundered down the hallways to the door, a knowing shudder passed through them when Kun lifted the protection spells on his porch. They couldn’t hear their conversation but before Donghyuck could resume what he wanted to do, there was a loud knock on their door. They froze again and Donghyuck emerged from under the blanket to stare at the door.

“Stop doing whatever nasty thing you two are doing in the morning. Renjun, you have a visitor today,” Ten called out, voice light with mirth as he knocked again and left them.

Renjun looked at Donghyuck sheepishly, as his lover kissed his forehead lightly. His hand slid down to Renjun’s hard cock and stroked it a little, movement lazily and Renjun whined at his touches. Donghyuck mouthed at his neck, licking at a bruise he just gave him, as his hands moved faster. Renjun whined breathlessly with pleasure and Donghyuck just kissed him, tongue and all. Donghyuck had always been a brilliant kisser, and he’s really that good at jerking Renjun off. With a low grunt and his feet curling, Renjun spilled over in Donghyuck’s hands, tainting them white as he laid there wordlessly with his blissed out coma.

“Alright, time to meet your guests… up you go, Sweetheart! You’ll need to shower and be presentable,” Donghyuck chirped, pulling Renjun off his bed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be thinking of you when I help myself in the showers.”

Renjun flushed red and hurried into the shower room, scrubbing himself clean. He stepped out and realised that Donghyuck had cleaned up his bed, laying out a neat set of clothes for him. It’s an oversized cream-colored hoodie that Donghyuck owned and a pair of skinny jeans. Renjun slipped into those and felt highly conscious of his boyfriend’s own state of nakedness as he pressed a chaste kiss on the crown of his boyfriend’s head before he watched Donghyuck slip into the shower room. He waited for him as he tidied his bed and carefully rearranged the flowers in the vase.

He was dropping the bird seeds into Ursa’s feeding bowl when it finally hit him that something was wrong. He stared at Ursa and blinked before his mind clicked into action. The falcon just stared at him as he picked on the bird seeds in the bowl, a low chirp from the falcon reminded Renjun to grab his usual meat scraps from the kitchen. He turned to his desk and finally _noticed_ the pale envelope on it. He turned to the back, hands shaking as he tore open the wax seal to retrieve the letter from within.

_Oh no._

Renjun slammed the letter onto the table just as Donghyuck came out of the shower, his hair dried itself as he slipped into a matching set of clothes — the hoodie he was wearing was brown — and leaned to rest his chin on Renjun’s shoulder, peeking at the letter’s contents. Renjun bemoaned into his shoulders, shaking with worry as Donghyuck snaked a hand around his waist. Renjun whined incoherently into his embrace as his magic whipped around him in distress.

“Hold up, what’s wrong?” Donghyuck asked softly, his hand brushed the apples of Renjun’s cheeks.

“My parents,” Renjun wailed and shook the letter. “My parents!”

“Your parents? Are they okay, do they nee—”

“They are here to visit, they were the ones at the door while you—” Renjun cried, gesturing wildly.

“Hey, don’t go shy on me now!” Donghyuck warned, resting his forehead on Renjun’s shoulder, feeling the tremor rolling off Renjun.

“I’m not shy! But — no, I’m not shy, listen, Hyuck — they are here… to see… us,” Renjun trailed off at the end, mortified that his parents had the decency to not tell him when he was with them a couple of weeks ago.

Donghyuck chuckled, pulling away from the hug, and brushed his knuckles on Renjun’s cheek, his magic flowed through Renjun, calming him down. He pressed their foreheads together, giving him a light eskimo kiss before a proper one on his lips. Renjun melted into the embrace and there was another knock on their door, they froze and Kun’s voice came on. They stiffened a giggle at how uncomfortable he sounded, betting that Ten had probably told him vividly about their morning, and they listened to his footsteps padding away.

“I can’t believe I missed the letter they sent me _two days ago_. Can you believe that?”

Donghyuck chuckled and earned himself a dark glare before he gripped Renjun’s shoulders and forced him to look at him. “Listen, your parents knows who I am, they know who you are, in fact, I’m glad I’m meeting your parents before mine comes back for me”

“You gave me a fucking blowjob while my parents were on their way in.”

Renjun smacked him on the chest and whimpered, hiding his face in his hands. Donghyuck smirked and pulled Renjun’s hands off his face. “And it felt good, don’t you _dare deny that_. But darling… whether or not I’ve sucked you off while your parents are here, it won’t make a difference. I promise you, they will love me okay.”

Renjun sniffed, pouting at his sentence. “Dumbass.”

“Yours only.” Donghyuck bit back, kissing his forehead. “Now, are you calm enough to go down with me to meet your parents?”

“If I say no, can we stay in this room forever?” Renjun looked up slightly, eyelashes fluttering and Donghyuck shook his head.

“No.”

“Fuck you.”

“I would if we don’t have to meet your parents,” Donghyuck laughed again as Renjun’s fist connected weakly on his chest. “Come on Renjunnie, it wouldn’t be that bad right? They can’t just ask us to break up right, I won’t let them anyway but I love you not because of your parents nor was it because you’re a prince. I had loved you before you were any of those, and that itself won’t change.”

Renjun sniffed and nodded, hiding his face in his shoulders and as he sighed. He pulled away and turned to give Ursa one gentle stroke down his beak before nodding, seeking comfort in the words Donghyuck had just said. Donghyuck beamed and tugged Renjun forward before he could change his mind. They made their way down to the common area and heard chatters in the kitchen. Renjun’s footsteps faltered a little as they walked towards the kitchen area and Donghyuck just gave him a reassuring squeeze in his hand. Renjun kissed him lightly on the cheek before he squared up his shoulders and pulled Donghyuck into the kitchen.

It was obvious who Renjun's parents were because Renjun looked like a mix of both of them.

Sicheng was talking animatedly to Renjun’s mother while Kun was engaged in a conversation about phoenixes with Renjun’s father. The conversation stopped when they both appeared in the doorway and Renjun’s mother ran out of her seat to engulf him into a tight warm hug. She turned to Donghyuck and beamed kindly at him, a hand reached up to brush his fringe lightly. She returned to her husband’s side and both of them fixed Renjun an impatient stare which Donghyuck giggled because he had been at the receiving end of that look. Renjun just calmly elbowed him painfully in the ribs as he made his way over to his parents.

“Father, Mother… may I introduce you to the Sun Fairies’ Crown Prince, my boyfriend Lee Donghyuck.”

——————————————

Huang Renjun was born cursed.

Huang Renjun’s soon-to-be husband, Lee Donghyuck, was also born cursed, a cursed _Sun Fairy_.

There were whispers circling the air, hushed yet bold with what they hold.

It’s been almost four years since Donghyuck met his parents, and Renjun couldn’t even be bothered about the whispers anymore. He watched Moomin, the white Arctic fox he had caught for Donghyuck, prancing under the sun and leapt into Donghyuck’s embrace. The duo made their way back and Moomin jumped into his lap, licking his jaw affectionately. Donghyuck fell into the space beside Renjun and pressed a chaste kiss on his jaw, nose wrinkling when he realised it was where Moomin had licked. Renjun giggled at his face and tugged him in to kiss him properly on the lips.

Renjun had just held a royal announcement to his and Donghyuck’s Fairy Clans about their engagement and well, it caused a pretty big scandal. It didn’t bother Donghyuck at all because he really couldn’t bring himself to care about what strangers had to say because his friends and their families were alright with the engagement, so why would any strangers’ words bother him? He brought Moomin back into his lap and gently stroked her as she barked softly at the caress. Renjun snuggled up to him, eyes fluttering shut as he rested his head on his chest.

“Wake me up when the rest are back, I’m going to take a nap.”

Donghyuck nodded, brushing stray hair off Renjun’s face as Moomin made herself comfortable across his chest. She rested a paw on Renjun’s head as she snuggled closer to Donghyuck. Donghyuck chuckled at his two little foxes as he closed his eyes, soaking the sunlight up in his body. There was a band of silver on their fingers, a pair of silver rings that Donghyuck had brought to propose. It was a matching set and Donghyuck had specifically engraved their names in the underside. So Renjun wore the one that had Donghyuck’s name while Donghyuck wore Renjun’s name on his finger.

Moomin was a gift from Renjun’s parents during their first visit and after much prodding at Renjun, Donghyuck found out that it was a fairies custom for parents to send their blessings in forms of a gift for their child’s significant other. Donghyuck’s parents had taken upon themselves to gift the falcon to Renjun hence his own parents decided to get a fox for Donghyuck. She was a menace to train and Donghyuck swore he could still hear the shouting and barking from Renjun and Moomin respectively.

But she was a smart one, quickly learning the ropes and then before they knew it, she was pretty domesticated. Donghyuck felt that the books in Kun’s library are all lying about Arctic foxes being not affectionate because Moomin was a really affectionate fox. She would often seek out cuddles from Renjun — more than Donghyuck after they had overcome their rivalry, much to Renjun’s amusement — or curl up on the couch with Louis and Leon.

Doyoung and Taeyong finally found the time to wed by the beach and everyone was invited. As the adults huddled together with the newlyweds, sipping on flutes of champagne, Renjun found himself dancing with Yangyang as the sun set in the horizon. Yangyang stepped away soon enough as Donghyuck came behind Renjun and wrapped his arms around him, kissing his nape softly. Renjun turned in his embrace and his hands reached up to clasp around Donghyuck’s nape. The grip on his waist tightened while their bodies swayed lightly, feet kicking up sand as they moved slowly to the beat playing from the speakers.

Their friends had left them for some privacy as they swayed slowly to the beat, Renjun rested his head on Donghyuck’s shoulders. A spark of magic jolted through them and their wings burst out behind them as their surroundings were bathed in a gorgeous warm orange hue from the setting sun. Their foreheads bumped as Donghyuck chuckled lowly, head tilting to brush his lips against Renjun’s cheeks. They danced a little longer before Sungchan called them over for a messy game of half drunk beer pong with the adults. Donghyuck held onto Renjun’s hands throughout the night as everyone got progressively drunker.

Kun had also finally proposed to Ten a year ago, after a seemingly drunken proposal that Ten was gleeful about.

They had gotten married by Spring the following year as Ten was impatient to put a ring on Kun who shrieked about planning and logistics. After they had gotten married, Ten had put his own house up for sale and moved right into Kun’s coven and brought his cats — Louis the Siamese and Leon the Abyssinian that he had adopted — along which, much to Jeno’s own dismay, led everyone to realise that Jeno was allergic to cat fur. After they had gone past the sniffles and blotchy face of Jeno, Ten offered his house — which was not sold yet — to Jeno who gratefully bought it from Ten (at a discount because Ten had a soft spot for the children in Kun’s coven that he refused to admit).

Needless to say, Jaemin moved in with him along with Jisung and Chenle. Jaemin’s wings were in the darkest shade of grey an angel’s wings could go and he renounced his status from High Heavens before the marriage. Soon after they had settled into Ten’s old house, they were married in the presence of friends in the backyard of Ten’s house. Donghyuck found them to be very brave to take the leap of faith and no matter what, they would be there to protect each other.

Jaemin had chosen to Fall when Jeno had proposed.

Of course, his parents were supportive but it had angered the Lord who ordered for Jaemin to be punished. He had sent troops after Jaemin and his family which prompted Jeno to rush to save Jaemin with his own specially trained troops up to Heaven. It was then Jaemin realised that Jeno was tenth in line to the throne and also his mother’s favorite son so he could do whatever he wanted. It had caused a major fight between him and Jeno — “how could you risk your life for this crazy mission!” Jaemin yelled at Jeno who just yelled back with “and watch them kill you, no thank you”.

It was the biggest fight they had ever witnessed from the two of them but it didn’t last long as well. They made up within two days — and out, quipped Jisung at the side, staring at them scandalously — and Jeno pulled the angel down to Hell with him and got his father to agree to their marriage. The King of Hell agreed and Jeno grinned victoriously before he pulled Jaemin and his parents back to earth. The cat allergy incident happened and they happily moved into Ten’s old house together. Kun was sad to watch them leave the Coven but Chenle stared at him and deadpanned, “We are literally moving to a house that you can reach in like two minutes, Kun-ge… for the love of being sappy, don’t.”

Kun’s old coven also made their way back home before Kun’s own wedding. They missed Doyoung’s wedding but Xiaojun had amassed a huge gift for the two of them which rendered Doyoung into tears. And in the most chaotic manner, it was a very tearful day when they arrived in town. Dejun and Hendery arrived late at night unannounced, scaring Jeno and Jaemin out of their wits which triggered Kun to appear in the middle of their living room with a burst of flames. They had missed Sicheng’s memo about a change in address for Ten, but all was well when they finally sorted things out and Kun had stopped brawling at his old friends — “sons actually,” Chenle muttered under his breath — they made their way back to Kun’s coven.

Sicheng had moved into Yuta’s little home above the cafe, happily adopting Shotaro under his paws as he helped around the cafe. He had stopped his travels and would only take a few quick trips to ensure the businesses he had set up across the globe were functioning fine. Occasionally, Yuta would close his cafe for a few days or weeks to travel with Sicheng, and Shotaro would then head over to stay with Jeno and Jaemin. So when Sicheng heard that Xiaojun and Hendery had arrived, he packed his bags and defiantly moved back into Kun’s coven. The old gang was reunited when Lucas caught wind of the news and made his way to Kun’s coven with Mark in tow. There was a loud group hug and even more tears shed by Kun.

Then, Yuta turned up at the Coven three days later, just as the dawn breaks across the horizon, with a ring and flowers, and proposed to Sicheng who almost rejected out of sheer embarrassment (but he said yes eventually after much coddling from Yangyang and Hendery).

The news spread fast and by noon the very same day, Johnny's pack along with Taeyong and Doyoung turned up on the doorstep of Kun’s coven to celebrate the engagement. Taeil, for old time’s sake, arrived with his own bouquet of flowers for Sicheng. The group cheered at them as Jungwoo started chanting “fight it out, fight it out” and soon, they were all chanting along to the beat. Of course, Yuta would take up the challenge and urged Taeil into a mock fight with him. Sicheng rolled his eyes at them and asked Renjun to help him carefully rearrange the flowers in a vase. Much to Johnny and Jaehyun’s utter disappointment, and Kun’s relief, Sicheng went over to tug on Yuta’s ears as he effectively stopped the mock fight.

There was a loud slam of the backdoor jolting Renjun out of his slumber as he felt a warm body fall upon him. He opened his eyes cautiously and watched Yangyang beam at him impishly. He had been out of town and had returned to the phoenix clan a couple of months ago to handle ‘princely duties’. Renjun beamed back at him and greeted him sleepily, “You’re back?” Yangyang nodded and showed him the mark on his hand. He was officially given a title and a place of his own _and_ managed to convince his father to allow Kun to continue being his mentor.

Yangyang only pouted lightly that his family was now forcing him to go on dates to find the right one and he really wasn’t keen on dating. “There is a whole world out there, why the hell would I want to be tied down and be married? I want to travel the world before it is too late,” Yangyang whined. Renjun held back his laughter and Yangyang whined at him before Donghyuck dramatically announced that he was awake with a loud staged yawn.

Donghyuck turned to look at Renjun, exchanging a smile as he sneaked a look at Yangyang. Making sure that the young phoenix lord was looking at them as he leaned in to give Renjun an open mouth kiss and licked his way into his mouth. He made sure to put on a show as he pulled Renjun to straddle him and sighed into his mouth. Renjun whined, embarrassed by his fiance’s childishness, and leaned away from the kiss. Yangyang had leapt away and gathered Moomin in his arms as he wailed about his innocence being ruined as he used the bewildered fox’s paw to wag at them.

“Damn, I just wanted to ask if both of you are staying for dinner because Kun’s cooking tonight.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes at his wailing because it was a known fact, let slipped by Hendery after a few glasses of alcohol, that Yangyang had unfortunately walked in on Kun and Ten in a compromising position when he first came to the coven. Renjun nodded eagerly at the prospect that Kun was cooking and Yangyang nodded curtly, heading back into the house with Moomin in his arms. The white fox had enjoyed the phoenix’s presence and often found lazing on Yangyang’s stomach whenever he was back from his travels.

They heard the back door slam and Donghyuck rolled himself over to hover above Renjun. He leaned down slowly, nose brushing Renjun’s nose before his lips against his cheek, feather-like touches against his cheeks, forehead, temple just not his lips. Renjun let out a breathless whine as however light and fleeting Donghyuck’s touches were, they still ignited a flare of fire through Renjun’s nerves, sending a wave of promising shivers down his spine, shivers that made his whole body tremble.

When Renjun realised that Donghyuck was teasing, he let out a soft purr and reached up to pull him down to him, and whatever protest that Donghyuck had wanted to make was lost against his mouth.

He kissed him gently, slowly and promisingly, but Renjun wasn’t keen on playing it slow so he knotted his fingers in his hair and pulled him harder, closer against him. Renjun rolled his hips up and Donghyuck groaned softly, low in his throat, and then his arms circled him, gathering Renjun against him. He had received the hints that Renjun had sent and he would make his wish come true — not that Donghyuck could ever say no to anything Renjun wanted because yeah, he was whipped for his fiance — and they rolled over on the grass, tangled together, still kissing.

Huang Renjun was a cursed Fairy, so was Lee Donghyuck; and they were a match made in heavens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random facts for the chapter is that this ending was the third that I wrote... the first two had KunTen and RenHyuck's wedding and an entire storyline of RenHyuck meeting each other's parents prior to the wedding and also Kun's old coven made their way back with more chaos. But it had felt like I was dragging the story on so *shrugs*~ I've plans for three side stories to this Fairies AU — RenHyuck's Wedding and Fairies Courts, KunTen's entire fight and lives prior to this, and as well as DoTae/JohnJae's back story. But that'll take a while so until then :)
> 
> Hope you liked this story, and please do drop me a comment or a kudos to tell me >..<  
> Stay safe and well!


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